1

DOMINION WITHIN

Glenn Andrew KRATZER

Lecturer, Teacher and Practitioner of Christian Science

Author of: ''Spiritual Man,"" What is Truth?" "The Cause and Cure of

War" "Revelation Interpreted" and “The Universal Gospel," etc.

Twelfth Edition

Copyright, 1913 by G. A. KRATZER

ROBERT O. LAW CO.

PRINTERS & BINDERS

CHICAGO, U. S. A.

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TO MY FAITHFUL WIFE TO WHOM, UNDER GOD, I WAS INDEBTED FOR HEALING THROUGH CHRISTIAN

SCIENCE TREATMENT FROM APPARENTLY INCURABLE DISEASE AND THROUGH WHOM I

RECEIVED MUCH OF MY EDUCATION IN CHRISTIAN SCIENCE, THIS BOOK IS LOVINGLY

DEDICATED. THE AUTHOR

MRS. EDDY'S DEFINITION of "Authorized Literature"

The following is quoted from Article VIII, Section 11, of the "Church Manual of

the First Church of Christ, Scientist, in Boston, Mass.":

"A member of this Church shall neither buy, sell, nor circulate Christian Science

literature which is not correct in its statement of the divine Principle and rules and the

demonstration of Christian Science. Also the spirit in which the writer has written his

literature shall be definitely considered. His writings must show strict adherence to the

Golden Rule, or his literature shall not be adjudged Christian Science." — Written by

Mrs. Eddy.

Each person has a right to judge for himself as to whether any book, pamphlet or

article measures up to this test.

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PREFACE

In 1907, the author wrote an

article for a distant patient, and entitled

it "Dominion Within." This article was

published in the Christian Science

Sentinel of February 29th, 1908. Two

days thereafter, the author received

from Rev. Mary Baker Eddy an

autograph letter, now in his possession,

the first sentence of which is: "Your

article, 'Dominion Within,' is superb";

and this article met with wide

commendation from the field of

Christian Science students and workers.

It is reproduced as the first article of this

book, it having been long out of print.

Since the article appeared, the

author has had five years of additional

experience in the practice of Christian

Science and in developing his

understanding of God, as manifest in

the human consciousness, along lines

similar to those touched upon in

"Dominion Within"; and all of the

articles in this book deal with the

application of Christian Science to

human needs. They are offered to the

public in the hope that they may be

found useful by those who are

struggling to gain that practical

knowledge of God which will enable

them to gain the victory over sin,

disease, and other forms of human ill.

In this book, a very few lines of

thought and practice are treated and

illustrated in a large variety of ways. If

there be a noticeable sameness in the

points dwelt upon in various articles, let

it be remembered that the purpose of the

book is not to furnish entertainment to

the casual reader, but to help the earnest

student of Christian Science work out

the most serious life problems which

confront him. Every article is true to the

leading thought indicated by the title of

the book that Dominion is within.

TABLE OF CONTENTS

Dominion within - Getting Rich - Divine Love Meets All Needs - The Law of

Right Feeling - The Consciousness That Pleads - Prayer - From Sickness to Health -

Working in Truth - Hindrances to Healing - Trusting God - Rejoicing in Tribulation -

The Righteousness which is by Faith - Dealing with Malpractice - God-Consciousness

versus Sub-Consciousness - God the Rewarder - The Marriage of Truth and Love - Let

Your Conversation be in Heaven - Perfect Love Casteth Out Fear - Working out Our

Problem - The Urge of God - Work for the Patient - Self-Surrender through Love -

Making the Port - Is God Our Father-Mother? - The Lame Walk

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TEXTS FOR THE BOOK

"Whom shall he teach knowledge? And whom shall he make to understand

doctrine? Them that are weaned from the milk. For precept must be upon precept,

precept upon precept, line upon line, line upon line." — Isa. 28:9, 10.

"Let the word have free course and be glorified. The people clamor to leave

cradle and swaddling clothes.

Truth cannot be stereotyped; it unfoldeth forever." — Mary Baker Eddy, in "No

and Yes," page 45.

"A few books, which are based on this book [Science and Health], are useful."

— Mrs. Eddy: "Science and Health," Preface, page x.

"By loyalty in students, I mean this: Allegiance to God, subordination of the

human to the divine, steadfast justice, and strict adherence to divine Truth and Love."

— Mrs. Eddy, in "Retrospection and Introspection," page 50.

"Everyone should build on his own foundation, subject to the one builder and

maker, God." — ibid, page 48.

"He that hath an ear let him hear what the Spirit saith unto the churches. To him

that overcometh will I give to eat of the tree of life, which is in the midst of the paradise

of God" — Rev. 2:7.

He that ruleth his own spirit is better than he that taketh a city. — Adapted from

Prov. 16:32.

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DOMINION WITHIN

Christian Science teaches that

God is infinite Person, infinite

individuality; that He is the unbounded

consciousness. (Science and Health, p.

330) It is well for us to spend a portion

of our time in trying to rise into some

sense of that unbounded consciousness,

that sense of freedom from limitation

whereby we may endeavor to know God

in His wholeness; but the endeavor to

become conscious of God in His infinity

is usually not the best means of

realizing those present and particular

manifestations of Him which we need to

realize in order to meet certain problems

that confront us.

God is ever-present good; and

He is manifested in the specific good as

well as in general good. Often what we

need to realize are those specific

manifestations of good which in our

limited state of belief we are more

readily able to comprehend. For

example, if we seem to be threatened

with a lack of money to meet our needs,

or with lack of supply of any kind, or

with disaster in business, and the

thought of this is troubling us, we

should stand still where we are, or retire

to our closet, and "have it out" with the

one evil then and there, or just as soon

as possible, by knowing and declaring

that the ever-present law of God, good,

the ever-present fact for the children of

God, is plentiful supply.

The truth is that as plenty is

man's birthright, plenty is the present

fact for those who accept the truth; and

error, false sense, cannot make us

believe to the contrary. If we realize this

fact long enough and clearly enough, so

that it becomes vital to us, we shall have

entered into peace and joy, and error

will no longer argue fear to us. If, even

by a single moment's realization of the

truth, we have permanently healed our

consciousness, — cast out fear, and

brought in the abiding sense of security

and joy, — our outward affairs will take

care of themselves in due season. We do

not need, beyond ordinary prudence and

common sense, to trouble ourselves

about the external arrangement or

disposition of material things, or to be

anxious about negotiations with our

fellow-men. Our one problem is to

maintain a whole consciousness, devoid

of fear, resting in God as the abundant

and infallible source of supply; then the

outward things will be added unto us.

Christian Science also teaches us

to know that health, strength, sight, and

hearing, or any other special

manifestation of God, good, from which

we may seem to be cut off, are present

and unchangeable facts of our true

selfhood, and that error cannot make us

believe to the contrary or make us fear

the further seeming loss of any of these

manifestations of good. If we heal our

own consciousness, so that we have no

further sense of fear, but are able to rest

with a sense of security and joy in the

fact that the special manifestation of

good which we desire is a present and

indestructible fact, that is all we need to

be concerned about. The physical

manifestation will duly take care of

itself, and harmony will be realized

where before discord was apparent. It

was never more than an appearance; for

God, the sole creator, never made any

discord, but rather established harmony

as the eternal law and the eternal fact;

and so it is. At the creation "God said,

let there be light; and there was light;"

and the light (the good) remains to this

day, while its opposite, darkness, in

reality does not exist. We should not be

anxious for the morrow or about any

outward things, either supplies for daily

need or health of the body; but we

should seek first the kingdom of God,

which is "at hand" and "within you,"

and His righteousness (right thinking

and feeling, knowledge of the truth, and

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love devoid of fear), and all these

outward things will be added unto us.

We should be willing to be "absent from

the body" in thought; we should not

worry about it, nor try to cure it by

taking thought about it. We should not

try to control the body by our thought;

we should try only to control our

consciousness by meditating on God

and His law. Thus we shall be "present

with the Lord," and the body will soon

manifest harmony.

Whatever of health or wealth we

gain apart from conscious reliance upon

God while we are gaining them is

worthless.

7

GETTING RICH

At the beginning of our earthly

experience, as soon as we are old

enough to enter into conscious life, we

begin to seek after material things. A

child discovers that he gets satisfaction

from food, pets, clothing and toys. As

he grows older, he still seeks after

material things, but the nature of his

wants and demands gradually changes.

However, in time he discovers that he

does not get as much satisfaction out of

these material goods as he formerly did,

even if he is able to gain most of the

things which he desires, which is

seldom the case. Nevertheless, there are

unnumbered thousands of people upon

whom it never seems to dawn that there

is any other order of riches to be sought

for; and so, notwithstanding the failure

of material possessions and pursuits to

give desired satisfaction and happiness,

great numbers of people continue, from

the cradle to the grave, a mad race to

gain them, and never consciously enter

into higher realms of life which are

always at hand for them, if they only

knew how to enter in.

A careful analysis will be

instructive. All that the houses, public

buildings, banks, and stores filled with

merchandise in any city can even seem

to confer upon the people of that city

are comfort and satisfaction. But

comfort and satisfaction are states of

consciousness, and not phenomena of

matter. Were it not for the presence of

consciousness, all the material things in

a city would have no more significance

than a dust heap; for consciousness

alone can appreciate or set a value upon

them. A peck of diamonds is worth

nothing to a horse, and a peck of corn is

worth nothing to a stone. Accordingly,

it is easy to see that material riches have

no value, except in so far as they can be

made the means of increasing the riches

of consciousness. Hence, it is apparent

that fundamental riches are desirable

states of consciousness, and that

material goods are riches only in a

secondary sense. To realize this, and

govern our activities accordingly, is

great gain. "Set your affections on the

things which are above; not on things

on the earth."

If the average man had a

thousand dollars in his possession, and

knew that there was a decided liability

that burglars would try to break into his

house at night, he would take great

precautions to guard that treasure. He

would either place the money in the

bank, or else he would equip his doors

and windows with burglar alarms, and

possibly arm himself, prepared to fight,

if necessary, to guard his treasure. This

he would do, because he consciously set

a distinct value upon the money. But

how many people are there who will

guard their mental treasure-house, their

consciousness, with equal care? How

many people consciously place such a

value upon peace and joy and love that

they will guard against being despoiled

of them even more carefully than they

would guard against being despoiled of

material treasures? If they had become

awake to the fact that these desirable

states of consciousness constitute

fundamental riches, then they would

value them even more than they value

material goods, and would guard them

with corresponding care. But most

people hold peace, joy, and love at so

small a valuation that they will allow

even a trifling circumstance to invade

their consciousness and steal away these

treasures, leaving in place of them

anger, envy, jealousy, anxiety, grief,

and other afflictive mental states.

Some gossip comes along with a

tale that a friend has said some unkind

or unjust thing.

Promptly, without even waiting

to learn whether the tale is true, the

listener allows peace, love and joy to be

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taken out of his consciousness. The loss

of property, the sickness of a friend or

relative, an insulting word, a pain in the

body, and a dozen other outward

occurrences are allowed to effect the

same result. These things are often

permitted to enter our mental treasure-

house and steal away our jewels without

protest or objection. This is never the

case, however, if we have learned that

desirable states of consciousness are the

true riches, and that they are more worth

keeping a secure hold upon than any

amount of material goods. Then we will

be at great pains not to allow outward

occurrences to interfere with our true,

inner wealth, for we know that it

constitutes "the kingdom of heaven,"

and makes us truly "rich toward God."

If a man had a large income, but

was in the habit of depositing his money

in a safe to which thieves had ready

access, and to which they were in the

habit of paying frequent visits, so that,

when the man went to the safe to get his

money, he could never be certain that

there was any there, no matter how

much he had deposited, such a man

would scarcely be regarded wealthy, nor

could his credit among business men be

very good. In order to be counted

wealthy and reliable in this world's

estimation, a man must have, not only

the ability to gain riches, but to safely

care for them, and maintain a firm and

constant control of them. Likewise, a

man is not rich in the treasures of the

kingdom of heaven, unless he has

demonstrated the ability to maintain a

firm and constant hold upon his spiritual

riches, no matter what thieves and

robbers, in the line of outward

temptations, may strive to take them

away. Mere good impulses and good

intentions now and then, no matter how

frequent or varied, do not make a man

rich toward God. It is the retention and

utilization of spiritual treasures, despite

dangers, difficulties and temptations,

that demonstrates how much treasure

one has really laid up in heaven.

If a person is once thoroughly

awakened to the fundamental

importance of spiritual riches, so that he

has had the experience, for a time, of

keeping them safe and available in his

consciousness, he soon learns that, for

his own happiness, he cannot afford to

let peace, joy and love escape him,

whatever the temptation to distraction

of thought. Nevertheless, at this stage of

his development, he has only just begun

to "enter into life." He has only learned

to appreciate peace, joy and love in a

negative way; he has only discovered

that he cannot get on very well without

them. He does not take much conscious

notice of them when he has them; but

only begins to think about them when

he perceives that there is danger that he

may lose them. There is yet more for

him to learn, which is of vast

importance.

There comes a time in the

aspiring man's development when he

begins to set a positive value upon

desirable states of consciousness, when

he begins to cultivate love in his

consciousness, to watch its increase,

and to experience joy in the

accumulation, even more than the

successful worldly enjoys the

enlargement of his material possessions.

He begins to discover new methods of

increasing and using his store of love.

He finds, for instance, that in doing a

kindly and considerate deed for another,

his own possession of peace, joy, love,

and other mental riches, is increased,

and, with his awakened sense, he

becomes considerate for this increase

far more than for a return in kind at the

hands of the one to whom he had done a

kindness, far more than for any material

good he might receive. He has reached a

point in his development where, in

doing good deeds, he can realize that

"his reward is with him," because the

very doing of the good deed

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automatically brings him an increase of

the wealth which he has learned to

value more than all other goods. He has

come to understand and appreciate

Jesus' words when he said: "Do good

and lend, hoping for nothing again; and

your reward shall be great, and ye shall

be called the children of the Highest."

If one who had no musical

education were to attend a series of

symphony concerts, they might not

mean much to him at the start. They

would bring him little satisfaction, even

if they did not prove tiresome. But, as

he continued to attend, he would

gradually begin to appreciate the music,

until after a time, he would find himself

experiencing a positive and lively sense

of pleasure and benefit. This change in

his experience would not be because

there had been any essential change in

the character of the concerts, but it

would come solely as the result of

growth in his power of appreciation, —

of being able to set a value, in terms of

consciousness, upon the music.

Likewise, a per- son may reach a stage

of development where much of peace

and love and righteousness are within

the range of his experience, and still get

little positive joy from them; but if he

begins to turn his attention to them, and

to the experiences which increase his

store of them, then he begins more and

more to appreciate them, and as this

comes to pass, his store of mental riches

is ever increasing. Then, instead of

being merely negatively peaceful and

happy, it comes to pass that he finds in

the course of his experience continual

occasions for positive exhilaration and

joy; and, although he knows that joy is

the birthright of the children of God, he

no longer takes these experiences of

consciousness as "matters of course,"

but lives in wonderland, and constantly

marvels at the goodness of God, who

has conferred upon him the ability to

possess, appreciate and enjoy such

riches.

This thought, that we should

become distinctly conscious of our

mental states, and that we should watch

the growth of our mental treasures, runs

contrary to much that has been written.

There are many who hold, that as soon

as a person begins to take account of his

mental conditions, as soon as he begins

to reckon his growth in love and in

other spiritual virtues, he becomes self-

conscious in an undesirable sense. But

to consciously grow in the exercise and

possession of divine love is not to

become self-conscious, but God-

conscious, since to dwell in love and

appreciate love, the reflection of God, is

to consciously dwell in God and

appreciate Him, which is the prime duty

of man. "Lay not up for ourselves

treasures on earth, where moth and rust

doth corrupt, and where thieves break

through and steal, but lay up for

yourselves treasures in heaven (in

harmonious consciousness), where moth

and rust do not corrupt and where

thieves do not break through and steal;

for where your treasure is, there will

your heart be also."

It is true that a person might

analyze his mental states, and take

account of his growth in certain virtues,

in such a way as to become self-

righteous; but this is in no sense a

necessary outcome of our learning to

appreciate spiritual treasures, and to

purposely take means of enlarging our

possession of them and our joy in them.

Once started along this road, there is

infinite opportunity of growth and

enlargement for every individual. The

experiences of peace, joy, liberty and

love, to which we all may and shall

attain, cannot be measured, for they are

infinite.

Before the individual has made

any great degree of progress in "getting

rich" along these lines, he begins to

discover, more and more, that, except in

a very secondary sense, neither the

possession of material goods, nor the

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right use of them, is the source of

desirable states of consciousness, but

that we can gain a large experience of

these mental treasures, and a firm hold

upon them, only in proportion as we

acquaint ourselves with God, and derive

them directly from Him, knowing that

He is the only source of unmixed good,

and that even the good which we seem

to get from and through matter is from

Him, though much adulterated or

distorted by the material medium. We

experience good in connection with

materiality, not because of it, but in

spite of it. Love, joy, and peace are not

properties of matter, and they are not

found in material pursuits. They are

everlasting, changeless manifestations

of God, which are ever at hand, and

which may be gained and possessed

without limit by any individual who

becomes awake to their presence, and

who is willing to work for them

faithfully, intelligently and in right

ways.

The worker along these lines

also soon discovers that, while

consciously seeking these mental

treasures, and centering his attention

primarily upon gaining them, such

outward or material goods as he needs

for harmonious living while he is still

forced to dwell in part in material sense

come his way without a large amount of

conscious effort on his part. He finds

the words of Christ to be literally true,

"Seek ye first the kingdom of God and

His righteousness, and all these things

shall be added unto you." It is true, that

in our present stage of experience, we

cannot have large conscious possession

of peace, joy and love without

experiencing an increase of health and

strength of body, as well as of material

goods; and it is true, that if we strive

most of all to make ourselves "rich

toward God," we shall soon find

ourselves not lacking either in strength,

health, or worldly possessions

according to our needs.

A balanced man is one who can

center his thought at will, be it in the

solitude of the mountain fastness or

facing peril in the jungle; in the hurly-

burly of affairs, as well as in the quiet of

his favorite den. This is the realization

of God-ever-present, and it is the secret

of all true achievement. A really poised

man is a miracle, humanly speaking; it

is he who has found the secret source of

all power, solved his problem, and

entered upon the life that is boundless

and eternal. — H. F. Porter.

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DIVINE LOVE MEETS ALL NEEDS

"Divine Love always has met

and always will meet every human

need." The literal truth of this sentence

from page 494 of Science and Health,

by Mrs. Eddy, has been questioned by

many. They have said, "Countless

thousands of men have suffered and

died from lack of food, drink, raiment,

shelter, health and strength. Then how

can it be said that divine Love has met

their need?"

In the first place, it is readily

perceived, on statement, that to meet a

need is not to relieve the need, unless

the supply provided is appropriated by

the person who is in need. As we shall

see presently, God does meet us with

the supply for our every need, and that

supply is always at hand, and always

has been at hand for mankind in all ages

; but God has provided that we must

consciously appropriate this supply, and

by the method which He has ordained.

The need of every man has always been

met with that which he needed; and if

his necessity was not relieved, it was

because he did not understand, or

neglected to practice, the prescribed

method of appropriation.

In absolute and final reality, and

in present reality, food, drink, raiment,

shelter, health, strength and life are

purely spiritual, as the Scripture clearly

states. "Man shall not live by bread

alone, but by every word that

proceedeth out of the mouth of God."

"Except ye eat the flesh of the Son of

man, and drink his blood, ye have no

life in you." "Because thou sayest, I am

rich, and increased with goods, and

have need of nothing; and knowest not

that thou art wretched, and miserable,

and poor, and blind, and naked; I

counsel thee to buy of me gold tried in

the fire, that thou mayest be rich; and

white raiment, that thou mayest be

clothed, and that the shame of thy

nakedness do not appear." "I will dwell

in the house of the Lord forever." "I

shall yet praise him, who is the health of

my countenance, and my God." "This is

life eternal, that they might know thee,

the only true God, and Jesus Christ

whom thou hast sent."

Perceiving that the real and true

supply for our needs is spiritual, we can

at once understand that God all the time

meets every man's need with His Spirit,

which is substance, strength, harmony,

life, and an everlasting dwelling place.

"In Him, we live and move and have

our being." Whoever appropriates this

spiritual supply gains the kingdom of

heaven.

But: what about men's need for

material food, drink and raiment? Are

not these human needs? Has God

always met these needs? Yes, He has

always met even these needs, although

He has not forced the appropriation of

the supply upon those who would not

seek to gain it in the proper manner.

These needs are not real, but only

apparent; still, they are very imperative

from humanity's present standpoint; and

Christ Jesus has pointed out in clear and

unmistakable language the right method

of appropriating the supply. "Be not

anxious, saying. What shall we eat? Or

what shall we drink? Or, Wherewithal

shall we be clothed? For your heavenly

Father knoweth that ye have need of all

these things. But seek ye first the

kingdom of God, and His righteousness;

and all these things shall be added unto

you." In other words whoever

sufficiently appropriates the real,

spiritual food, drink, raiment, shelter,

strength, health, and life, will infallibly

have a sufficient supply of the material

counterparts of these spiritual realities

"added unto" him, as long as he has

need of any material supply.

The greatest human need, even

here and now, is more Spirit, rather than

more matter. The trouble with most men

12

is, that, relative!}', they have too much

matter in proportion to their present

vital possession of Spirit. If any man

lacks material supply, it is a sure sign

that he has not sufficient hold on Spirit,

though the converse proposition is not

true, that an abundant material supply is

necessarily a sign that the owner is "rich

toward God." But if any man lacks

material supply, his first effort should

be, not to gain more matter, but more of

Spirit. If he does so, his need will not

only be "met," as it always was and

always will be, far more than half way,

but his need will be filled. "Blessed are

they which hunger and thirst after

righteousness (right-wise-ness); for they

shall be filled," not only with the

kingdom of God, but even with the

supply of their material needs.

So it is true that, "divine Love

always has met and always will meet

every human need;" and men will

always find their need, not only "met,"

but abundantly satisfied, if they will

"seek first the kingdom of God and his

righteousness."

"The Lord knoweth the way of

the righteous; but the way of the

ungodly shall perish." The way of the

righteous is real and eternal, because

God knows it. By inference and contrast

the way of the ungodly shall perish

because God does not know it. If God

did know it, it could not perish, since

anything in divine Mind cannot be lost

there from, and so whatever is known to

God exists eternally. "God is light, and

in Him is no darkness at all." That is,

infinite Mind is all good, and there is in

it, therefore, no thought or knowledge

of evil at all. God is "of purer eyes than

to behold evil, and cannot look on

iniquity."

13

THE LAW OF RIGHT FEELING

"They should seek the Lord, if

haply they might feel after him, and find

him." — Acts 17:27.

"Science declares that Mind, not

matter, sees, hears, feels, speaks" —

Science and Health, page 485.

The writer has observed that

many students of Christian Science pay

less attention to the government of the

mental feelings than to the government

of the thoughts; and this,

notwithstanding that the satisfaction of

daily living is more directly a matter of

the feelings than of the thoughts, and

that conditions of bodily health are

almost wholly determined for good or

ill by the right or wrong activity of the

feelings, though, of course, right

understanding is necessary to right

feeling. Many mistaken mental

processes which are merely intellectual

do not, on our present plane of

experience, adversely affect the

feelings, and so do not occasion

suffering, either mental or physical; but

wrong emotional processes constitute

mental suffering or unhappiness, and, if

persisted in. beget what is called

physical disease. Right activity of the

feelings, activity in accord with the

nature of God, constitutes, in large

measure, the riches of the kingdom of

heaven, which are the only true riches.

Since God is the creator and

governor of the universe, and is all-

powerful and omnipresent, the various

manifestations of God constitute the law

of the universe, the law of being, and

the law of every man's mentality. Part of

the changeless manifestations of God

consist in love, joy, peace, and

confidence in good; hence, these

manifestations constitute the law

governing the feelings, and any

manifestation of human feeling at

variance with these divine

manifestations is false emotional

activity. Fear, anxiety, worry, grief,

doubt, anger, jealousy, envy and

revenge: all are forms of false emotion.

On reflection, it is easy to

perceive, that there is absolutely no

connection between opposites, — no

connection between falsehood and truth,

or between evil and good.

Consequently, there is absolutely no

connection between love, joy, peace and

confidence in good, on the one hand,

and fear, grief, anger, or doubt, or

anything that can seem to occasion

them, on the other. For instance, the loss

of a pocketbook containing money does

not occur in the changeless realm of

God, or Truth; it only occurs in the

false, phenomenal realm of error.

Hence, there is absolutely no legitimate

connection between such a loss and joy

and peace, as states of mind. Joy and

peace are not properties or

manifestations of a full pocketbook;

hence, they cannot possibly proceed

from such a pocketbook. They are

properties or manifestations of Spirit,

God, and proceed from Him alone. The

argument or seeming that there is a

connection between a pocketbook and

the joy and peace of the mind is one of

the deceptions of false sense, Satan.

The loss of a pocketbook would

not tempt one to break the law of

numbers in his thinking; it would not

tempt one, for instance, to think that

five times six are twenty-six. There is

no connection between the loss of a

pocket-book and one's thought about

five times six; and as one attains to the

Mind that was in Christ Jesus there can

be no more connection between the loss

of a pocketbook and the state of his

feelings than there is between such loss

and his thought about five times six.

Man's feelings can act only in accord

with their Source and Principle, God,

and they are not affected by that which

is not their Source or Principle of being.

14

Yellowness, hardness, and

opacity, are changeless manifestations

of gold. Wherever gold is, there

yellowness, hardness, and opacity are

always found. The loss of a pocketbook

could not in the slightest degree change

the color of gold, or cause yellowness to

depart from gold,— either gold in the

pocketbook or anywhere else in the

world, — since the yellowness depends

not on what happens to the pocketbook,

but on the nature of gold. Likewise, the

loss of a pocketbook cannot change

man's joy and peace in the slightest

degree, or cause them to depart from

God, since they depend solely on the

nature of God; neither can such loss

cause joy and peace to depart in the

slightest degree from the mentality of a

human being, if that mentality is stayed

on

God, and so is governed by the

only law or truth of being.

Likewise, unfair or insulting

human conduct has absolutely no

relation to the love, joy, and peace,

which St. Paul speaks of as "fruits of the

Spirit." These have neither their Source

nor their Principle in unjust or

discordant human conduct; as before

remarked, their Source and Principle is

God, and human mentality must learn to

consent to the government of its

feelings by God alone, and not by

human behavior, — otherwise, its

government and its action are both false

and afflictive.

All the misery of the human race

is attributable to the fact that the human

mind allows ignorance and false sense

to enforce their claim that a connection

exists between true feelings and

material circumstance and human

behavior, whereas no such connection

exists. The only legitimate connection

of feeling is with God. This is the truth

a part of that truth which Christ Jesus

declared would make those who know it

free from the ills of life.

If we but learn to say to

ourselves, many times per day

perchance, as occasion arises, "No

connection" (applying the phrase as a

reminder that there is no necessary or

reason- able relation) "exists between

seeming material loss, or unjust or

unkind behavior on the part of human

beings, and the love, joy, and peace

which belong to us as children of God,"

then we will be protecting ourselves

from the loss of the only riches which

are real; we will live more happily,

healthfully and prosperously even in a

worldly sense, and more fully obey the

command: "Lay not up for yourselves

treasures on earth, where moth and rust

corrupt, and where thieves break

through and steal; but lay up for

yourselves treasures in heaven (in daily

spiritualized consciousness) where moth

and rust do not corrupt, and where

thieves do not break through and steal."

Doing this, we shall "seek first the

kingdom of God and His

righteousness," and what we need to eat,

drink and wear will infallibly be added

unto us, notwithstanding any temporary

seeming to the contrary. This is the

promise of Christ, whose word cannot

fail.

In fact, there is no legitimate

connection between the activity of love,

joy, peace and confidence in good, and

weakness or pain of the body; but this is

sometimes a little more difficult to

demonstrate. What is called disease of

the body is usually the result of one

having entertained some false feeling

masquerading as a mental state ; and, if

what may be termed the mental discord

is first eliminated, the bodily ill will

usually soon vanish. On the basis of the

understanding and practice of the truth

above set forth, it ought to be possible

quickly to eliminate from consciousness

lust, fear, worry, anxiety, grief, doubt,

anger, jealousy, envy, revenge, and the

like. These are purely mental discords.

In some cases it may not be humanly

15

possible to have a very full sense of joy

and peace while suffering from

weakness or pain, but if the mental

discords above mentioned are

thoroughly eliminated, the sense of

weakness and pain will soon disappear.

Then there will be nothing to interfere

with a full realization of love, joy, peace

and confidence in good.

Suppose that a boy, who was

just commencing to study arithmetic,

had an enemy, older than himself, who

pretended to be his friend, and whom he

believed to be his friend. If this pseudo-

friend could persuade the boy that he

ought to begin his study of arithmetic

with fractions, and that, if he did so, he

would, in this way, most readily learn

addition, sub- traction, multiplication,

and division, he could prevent the boy

from gaining a knowledge of arithmetic

at all, or, at least, make it extremely

difficult for him to do so. Likewise, if

Satan, mortal belief, can persuade us

that we should seek happiness, or

harmonious consciousness, by

commencing with the attainment of

material prosperity, agreeable social

recognition and bodily health, and that,

if we do so, we shall, in this way, most

readily attain joy, peace, and a loving

attitude of mind, he will prevent us from

attaining harmonious consciousness

altogether, or at least make it

exceedingly difficult for us to do so. In

this way, we should be as badly misled

as the boy would be, if he were

persuaded to commence the study of

arithmetic with fractions.

As before intimated, pain,

weakness, and poverty are as unlike

God, and so as untrue and unreal, as are

fear, doubt, worry, grief, lust, jealousy,

anger, and the like. But the writer has

discovered from experience, that if he

starts a patient working against pain,

weakness, or poverty, both the patient's

effort and his own work in behalf of the

patient often fail of quick results, as is

often true in the experience of all

practitioners ; and, as a consequence,

the patient gets discouraged. But, when

the patient is shown how to begin work

for himself by combating purely mental

discords, in the manner already

indicated in this article, he finds himself

winning victories from the start, and he

is greatly encouraged, and is much more

responsive to the practitioner's work.

There is great wisdom in giving a

beginner something to do that he can be

sure to accomplish if he is diligent,

rather than to set him a task at which, as

a beginner, he is quite likely to fail.

Since the writer definitely began to use

this method of procedure, he has healed

quite a large number of patients who

have had treatment for considerable

time by various practitioners, and have

been studying and working for

themselves, and all without much

success. The healing was accomplished

by starting them to work at

demonstrating right feeling, rather than

at demonstrating health or out- ward

harmony. They had failed for so long

because they had never started right.

Beginning at the right point in their

work, the health and outward harmony

were soon attained.

In the "Father-Mother God" (S.

& H., p. 16), Truth or Intelligence is the

divine Father, and Love is the divine

Mother. "White- robed purity will unite

in one person masculine wisdom and

feminine love" (S. & H., p. 64). As the

child in the early stages of its human

life has, and needs to have, much more

to do with its mother than with its

father, so the "babe in Christ," the

beginner in Christian Science, has need

to work even more in Love, through

demonstrating right feeling, than in

Truth, through demonstrating right

thinking, though as he attains spiritual

manhood, he must come into the full

recognition and demonstration of both

Truth and Love.

Let one of our watchwords be:

"No connection" between the good of

16

the mind and discordant human or

material circumstances. We can always

say to ourselves that God is a sufficient

reason for not fearing, not doubting, not

worrying, not grieving.

At our present stage of

development we cannot wholly or even

largely withdraw our thoughts from the

consideration of discords and

difficulties, but, here and now, we can

learn to keep our feelings with God,

harmony all the time. The oft quoted

motto, "Let nothing disturb the harmony

of your thoughts," might be revised to

our profit, so that it shall read, "Let

nothing disturb the harmony of your

feelings."

Having mediatory intelligence,

so that we can not only know and

declare Truth, but can also consider and

uncover error and reverse it in favor of

the truth, and having divine love with

which to dissolve error, we are perfectly

equipped for the service of God on the

human plane, and for the true service of

ourselves; but if we allow the feelings

to be engaged with and ruled by

discord, we can serve nothing but Satan.

We should not allow our

feelings to be governed by the evidence

before the senses, however much our

thoughts must rest upon outward

circumstances while engaged in

overcoming human discords and

difficulties.

"Jesus' life, outwardly, was one

of the most troubled lives that were ever

lived: Tempest and tumult, tumult and

tempest, — the waves breaking over it

all the time. But the inner life was a sea

of glass. The great calm was always

there. At any moment you might have

gone to Him and found rest." — Henry

Drummond.

We should, and can, attain this

"sea of glass" for ourselves. — G. A. K.

17

THE CONSCIOUSNESS THAT HEALS (Reprinted from C. S. Sentinel, Sept. 12, 1908)

In Christian Science great

emphasis is laid upon the Scriptural

statements that God is Spirit; God is

eternal; God is perfect, and God is the

only cause and creator. The creations of

God would naturally and inevitably bear

His characteristics, and not

characteristics opposite to Him.

Therefore, the real universe and man

were created like to God, — spiritual,

eternal, and perfect, — and they so

remain, because God's all-power

preserves them as He made them. And

God, Spirit, knows or discerns His

universe and His children as they are;

that is, spiritual, eternal, and perfect. If

we could discern the universe in the

same way that Spirit discerns it, then

that would be spiritual discernment on

our part; but we are not able to exercise

spiritual discernment through the

physical senses, nor ever shall be, "for

the carnal mind is enmity against God."

We may, however, exercise spiritual

discernment in spite of the physical

senses by reasoning, as above indicated,

from God as premise, thus determining

what the character of man and the

universe must be, and obeying the

Scriptural rule of "comparing spiritual

things with spiritual."

If we have spiritual discernment,

we have faith; for the two are identical.

And if we know or discern the universe

and man as God knows them, then in

our thinking or consciousness we reflect

the divine thinking, just as Jesus did.

When we do this, we know the power of

Mind as did the Master; and the Mind or

consciousness which Jesus had was that

consciousness which healed the sick,

raised the dead, and cast out devils

(evils). Having freely received this

consciousness from God, he freely gave

it to as many as would receive it; and it

is our duty to reflect this same

consciousness. St. Paul exhorts, "Let

this mind be in you, which was also in

Christ Jesus."

To have and to exercise this

healing consciousness, and obtain

results there from, several things are

requisite. First of all we must

understand that all God's ideas and their

expression are spiritual, eternal, and

perfect; but it is far from sufficient to

accept this intellectually, as a creed to

be recited in church and on other formal

occasions. On the other hand, this view

of all that is must become a part of our

habitual thinking. The tendency with us,

as mortals, is to let our thoughts,

moment by moment, dwell upon the

subjects presented by the physical or

bodily senses, and to be thus directed by

what seems to transpire in our bodies

and in the so-called physical world. In

other words, it is considered "natural"

for us to let our thoughts drift with the

current of sense testimony. The duty set

before us is to make head against this

current and never to drift with it a

moment, when we can avoid it. Our

problem is to gain gradually, and as

rapidly as possible, the ability to keep

habitually our thoughts on the plane of

spiritual discernment. This we shall

accomplish by distinctly and purposely

lifting our thoughts, moment by

moment, away from the presentations of

the bodily senses and by fixing them on

God and on the nature of His spiritual

creation; or, if sense testimony obtrudes

itself upon us so much that we cannot

ignore it, we may then deny and reverse

it in favor of the spiritual truth, until its

claims are so much silenced that they

retire into the background. If we thus

persistently take control of and direct

our thoughts, in a few weeks or months

the spiritual attitude of mind will

become habitual, and most of the time

there will abide in consciousness a

realization of the perfection of man and

18

all real things; that all are expressions of

the spiritual, eternal, and perfect, — and

this quite independently of the fact that

at the given time we may be "treating"

ourselves or another for sickness, sin, or

any other trouble. To have such a

consciousness is to "pray without

ceasing."

This consciousness must be not

merely intellectual; it must be

transfused with love, — the love of God

and the love of His whole creation, as

being spiritual and good, and therefore

lovable. By conscious, persistent effort

we can acquire the habit of having our

thoughts and feelings turn to God and to

the right perception and active knowing

and loving of His creation; and the time

soon comes when this no longer calls

for effort, but our thoughts and feelings

run naturally in such channels.

Finally, the spiritual

consciousness, to the degree that it is

attained, must find exemplification in

our lives, so far as it is possible to make

the demonstration. If loyal to the

spiritual program of life, we shall not

seek material things as an end in

themselves or under the belief that they

are real, but we shall know that

substance is Spirit and matter is only

shadow. Then we will seek "first the

kingdom of God, and his

righteousness," and let the material take

a secondary place until such time as the

appearance of it is destroyed by the

fuller realization of Truth. We shall not

recognize intelligence or power in

matter by taking drugs, and we shall

not, when we can harmoniously avoid

it, seek the pleasures of the flesh.

Such a spiritual consciousness

exemplified in daily life will be, in large

degree. Godlike, and will be transparent

to the divine Mind, even as a pane of

glass is transparent to sunlight. Mrs.

Eddy says, "The manifestation of God

through mortals is as light passing

through the windowpane" (Science and

Health, p. 295).

In like manner, the light of Truth

passes through a spiritualized

consciousness and destroys all belief in

sin and disease, and ultimately will

destroy the belief in death and matter.

Such a consciousness is a window open

toward heaven. It lets in the light for

ourselves, and whoever turns toward us

for help may experience enough of the

light of Truth and Love shining through

to heal him partially or wholly of his

diseases. To change the figure, if we

have such a consciousness, it is as a

mirror reflecting the divine Mind, and

by consciously directing our spiritual

thoughts, we may reflect the healing

rays of Truth and Love upon whom we

will.

From this description it will be

seen that in Christian Science it is the

divine Mind and the reflected

consciousness thereof which heals the

sick. It will also be seen how radically

different is this process from faith-cure,

based on blind belief, and from

processes of hypnotism or suggestive

therapeutics, wherein a human

consciousness which accepts matter,

sin, and disease as real is the supposed

curative agent. It must be very evident

that Christian Science healing is based

on the divine Mind, God, while all other

forms of mental treatment are based

more or less on the human, "carnal

mind," which, as Paul says, "is enmity

against God." The state of

consciousness above described

exemplifies the 1st Psalm: "Blessed is

the man that walketh not in the counsel

of the ungodly, nor standeth in the way

of sinners, nor sitteth in the seat of the

scornful. But his delight is in the law of

the Lord; and in his law doth he

meditate day and night. And he shall be

like a tree planted by the rivers of water,

his leaf also shall not wither; and

whatsoever he doeth shall prosper."

Some people speak of being

repellant to others, or of being repelled

by others. It is only a sense of self that

19

is repelled. Imagine light being repelled

by darkness! Imagine any sinner,

however great his sin, repelling the all-

potent, the all-embracing love of Christ,

manifested through Jesus! Is there any

case on record of Jesus being repelled?

Did he come to turn away from sinners,

or to save sinners from their sins? Let us

become so unselfed that there is nothing

in us to be repelled. Then, too, we shall

not repel others.

20

PRAYER

To make this subject plain, let us

first consider the steps by which a

young man prays his way through

college.

1. Recognition. Any young man

who, of his own volition, registers in a

college for a course, with an intelligent

sense of what he is doing, recognizes

that the college administers to its

students a body of knowledge, and that

this knowledge is in existence, ready to

be administered, before the student goes

there. The young man does not expect

any knowledge, any facts or laws, to be

created for his special benefit.

Moreover, if he stops to think, he

recognizes that neither this college, nor

any other, nor all of them combined,

have any monopoly of the facts and

laws which they teach. All these facts

and laws are just as much present in any

man's home as they are in any college,

and knowledge of them could be gained

in any man's home. The college is

simply a more convenient place in

which to gain this knowledge, because

the college arranges the knowledge in

the right order of presentation, and

parcels it out in daily portions of the

proper amount for the student to master,

and gives him guidance and discipline,

which he could not get at home, — at

least not without a very competent tutor.

He could do the work at home, though

not so easily.

2. Desire. Having recognized

that the college has a body of

knowledge to administer, the student, to

succeed, must desire that knowledge. If

he goes to college with the right

purpose, he does not go for the

buildings, nor for the faculty, nor for the

amusements, but with a great desire for

knowledge of the facts and laws which

he has recognized to be already in

existence.

3. Appropriation through

concentration and drill. Recognition and

desire are fundamental to the young

man's gaining the body of knowledge

which the college administers, but they

are not sufficient. To succeed, the

student must, each day, concentrate his

consciousness upon the daily portion of

the facts and laws allotted to him, in the

various branches which he is studying.

Nor is it sufficient for him to study each

fact and law until he clearly sees that it

is true. He may have to spend

considerable labor to do even this, but

he must do more. He must go over and

over these facts and laws, and drill them

into his memory, into his consciousness,

else he will not have command of them,

either at examination time, or in his

succeeding lessons, or when he needs

them to do practical work.

The average college student

drills the facts and laws in any subject

into his mind sufficiently to enable him

to have command of them until he has

passed the examinations on that subject,

and on related subjects; but how few of

the facts and laws, taught in a college

course, does the average student drill

into his consciousness so thoroughly

that he has a life-long command of

them, so that he can make instant use of

them at any time when it would suit his

convenience or pleasure to do so. Only

of the facts and laws of which he has

gained an ineradicable and ready-on-

demand knowledge, can he be said to

have gained an absolute mastery.

During the process of

concentration and drill, the student has

obstacles to contend with. In the first

place, he has to overcome the inertia of

ignorance, the difficulty of seeing and

understanding the subject matter which

he is studying. But, with many, an even

greater difficulty is to rule out

distracting thoughts, and keep the

consciousness fixed with continuity,

hours at a time, upon the subjects being

studied. The young man who cannot,

21

during his study hours, keep thoughts of

the dance he went to the night before, or

of the theatre j)arty he is going to on

Saturday night, or of the next week's

football match, out of his mind for the

most part, will not make much of a

success in college. The difficulty of

doing this is often very great, but most

students do it, in spite of the difficulty.

Distracting thoughts incident to disease

of more or less severity, homesickness,

anxiety over money matters, and many

others, also have to be sternly ruled out

of the mind, in order to study

successfully; and many accomplish this

task.

4. Application. Nothing so fixes

facts and laws, learned in theory, in the

consciousness, in such a way as to give

a mastery of them, as an application of

them, as fast as learned, to practical

conditions; and the best colleges attend

to it, that their students shall be induced

to make practical application of their

theoretical knowledge to the largest

possible extent. This not only helps

them while in college, but fits them for

work in the world.

The student who properly

attends to the elements of recognition,

desire, appropriation, and application, in

connection with the body of knowledge

which the college is administering, will,

without the slightest doubt, graduate

from the college in due time and with

high honors ; and, if he properly attends

to these elements all through his college

course, with reference to that body of

knowledge he has daily maintained an

attitude of prayer, when prayer is rightly

understood, for true prayer always

includes the elements above mentioned.

It includes desire, but it never includes

an expectation of or an asking for any

change in the objects of desire, or in

that which is addressed in prayer. It

recognizes that all the change must take

place in the one who is praying, lifting

him from ignorance to knowledge, from

bondage to freedom, and from evil to

good.

Now let us consider how it

works out on a higher and more

important field of endeavor.

What practically all well-

meaning people in the world are striving

for is the attainment of holiness, health

and plenty, — in other words, harmony.

Religious people recognize that the

source of these is God, and that it is a

duty as well as a privilege to make these

things a subject of prayer. What is the

proper process? It is important to know,

lest we should "ask and have not,

because we ask amiss."

1. Recognition. Holiness, health

(harmony, strength) , and plenty, are

laws of God; they are the eternal

manifestations of His being. Since God

is omnipresent, these manifestations are

omnipresent; and since He is infinite,

these manifestations are infinite and

inexhaustible, and are ever at hand. So

we should never expect God, or ask

Him, to create any holiness, health, or

supply for us, or in any way to change

Himself or His laws. If we do so, we

shall "ask amiss." But we should

recognize that God has already provided

for us all good, and has placed it nearer

to us than the air we breathe, as near to

every man as are the facts of the

multiplication table, which are at hand,

ready to be learned and appropriated

wherever a man is. This is what Jesus

meant, when he said: "And therefore I

say unto you, 'Have faith that whatever

you ask for in prayer is already granted

you and you will find that it will be.'

"Twentieth Century New Testament.

Mark 11:24.

2. Desire. Without desire for

holiness, health and plenty, and without

desiring them from their only true

source, God, we shall have no more

success in attaining them than would a

college student, who, though attending

college, had no real desire for the

knowledge there administered. To say

22

that we desire, is not sufficient. The

desire must be real. Said Jesus, "Blessed

are they which do hunger and thirst

after righteousness; for they shall be

filled." On page 6 of Science and

Health, Mrs. Eddy writes: "The danger

from (audible) prayer is that it may lead

us into temptation. By it we may

become involuntary hypocrites, uttering

desires which are not real and consoling

ourselves in the midst of sin with the

recollection that we have prayed over it

or mean to ask forgiveness at some later

day."

3. Appropriation through

concentration and drill. We are born as

ignorant of true holiness, health, and

supply, and of their Source, as we are of

arithmetic, language, or chemistry; and

we shall never gain a mastery of the

harmony of life in its various phases

with any less effort, or in any very

different manner, than we gain a

mastery of the forms of worldly

knowledge taught in school and college.

If we wish to gain real possession of

holiness, health, and plenty, we must

concentrate our thought upon them, and

upon their relation to God, until we

understand what they really are. But

simply theoretical understanding is far

from being sufficient. Having seen and

understood what these forms of

harmony are, and that they belong to us

in the same sense that the facts of the

multiplication table belong to us if we

are willing to put forth the requisite

effort to gain them, it next behooves us

to hold our thought to and upon the fact

that harmony, in its various phases, is

the law of God, and is really the law of

our being, and hold it there

consecutively by the hour, rigorously

excluding all other thoughts, just as the

child holds his thought to and upon the

multiplication table, with repetition

after repetition, and application upon

application, in order to absorb it

indelibly into his consciousness.

During this process of

concentration and drill, our greatest

obstacles are intruding thoughts, trying

to distract our attention, — temptations

of sinful desire; thoughts of pleasure,

innocent enough in themselves, but out

of place during our period of prayer;

feelings of fear, anxiety, worry; feelings

of pain or weakness; thoughts along a

score of lines opposite to the law of

harmony which we are trying to master.

In order for rapid growth, all such

distracting thoughts must be sternly

ruled out of our consciousness for some

considerable consecutive period of each

day, and as much as possible during all

the day, in order that our thoughts and

feelings may be consciously and

determinedly fastened upon harmony in

its various manifestations, until we have

permanently absorbed it into our

consciousness, or identified our

consciousness with it.

In this connection we may with

profit recall such counsel as follows:

"Work out your own salvation with

watchful care. Remember, it is God,

who, in his kindness, is at work within

you, enabling you both to will and to

work." Phil. 2:12, 13. Twentieth

Century New Testament. "What I say

unto you I say unto all, Watch." Mark

13:37. "Pray without ceasing." 1

Thes.5:17. "Let us not be weary in well-

doing; for in due season, we shall reap

if we faint not." Gal. 6:9. "For precept

must be upon precept, precept upon

precept; line upon line, line upon line."

Isa.28:10. "Stand porter at the door of

thought. Admitting only such

conclusions as you wish realized in

bodily results, you will control yourself

harmoniously. When the condition is

present which you say induces disease,

whether it be air, exercise, heredity,

contagion, or accident, then perform our

office as porter and shut out these

unhealthy thoughts and fears. Exclude

from mortal mind the offending errors.

The issues of pain or pleasure must

23

come through mind, and like a

watchman forsaking his post, we admit

the intruding belief, forgetting that

through divine help we can forbid this

entrance." Science and Health, page

392. "Hold thought steadfastly to the

enduring, the good, and the true, and

you will bring these into your

experience proportionately to their

occupancy of your thoughts." Science

and Health, page 261.

4. Application, Nothing so

quickly and so thoroughly gives us

mastery of the law of harmony in its

various phases, after we theoretically

understand what it is, as its constant

application to the problems of daily

living. As above indicated, until we

have thoroughly accomplished our

tasks, we should set aside some portion

of each day for concentrated and

consecutive direction of our thought to

and upon the law of harmony, even as

the college student has his periods of

consecutive study; but, in addition to

this, we should make use of our

knowledge that harmony really is the

law and the power of being to cast out

of our consciousness feelings of fear,

worry, doubt, sin, and pain at the very

moment that these intruders try to gain

entrance. If any of these forms of error

seem to have gained permanent

lodgment in our consciousness, as in the

case of chronic sin or disease, we may

well contend with these more especially

during our periods of consecutive work

or prayer; but throughout the day we

should apply our knowledge of

harmony to the prompt ejection of any

feelings of discord along new or

unusual lines, which we detect

springing up in our minds. This will be

a most valuable application of what we

are learning and striving for.

Most people have really

acquired a mastery of the fundamentals

of arithmetic. They could stand an

examination at any time, at a moment's

notice. If any ordinary problem presents

itself in their business, they have

immediate command of the knowledge

with which to solve it. They do not have

to consult a book, or to refresh their

memory. They have no fear that the

requisite knowledge is not there. When

they have reached this stage, they do not

have to study these fundamentals of

arithmetic any more, or make any

conscious effort with regard to them.

They have merely to use the knowledge

when occasion presents itself. They

have so assimilated this form of

knowledge that they do not hunger or

thirst for it any more, since it springs up

in them an inexhaustible well of water,

ready for instant use.

Whoever recognizes that

harmony — holiness, health, plenty —

is the fact of being, and is ever at hand,

eternal, changeless, and inexhaustible,

the perpetual manifestation of God; and

whoever desires that harmony in all its

manifestations with his whole heart ;

and whoever will concentrate his

thought and feeling upon this law, and

hold his mind to it, and drill it into his

consciousness, and make continued

application of it, with the persistence,

watchfulness, patience, and assiduity

that the average person has spent on the

fundamentals of arithmetic, such a

person may be sure of attaining the

same mastery of holiness, health and

plenty. Then he will have no fear of

losing them. He will not have to strive

so hard for them as he once did. He will

merely have to use his demonstrable

knowledge of them occasionally to rule

out discord, just as the average person

has to use his knowledge of arithmetic

occasionally to solve a problem, but he

will have no more fear that he will be

unable to overcome discord than the

average person entertains a fear that he

cannot reckon up a grocery bill on

occasion.

A person who has acquired such

a demonstrable and ready-on-demand

knowledge of the harmony of God in its

24

various manifestations has fed upon the

bread of life, and to him the following

words of Jesus properly apply: "He that

eateth of this bread shall live forever."

"Whosoever drinketh of the

water that I shall give him shall never

thirst; but the water that I shall give him

shall be in him a well of water springing

up into everlasting life."

"Matter makes itself known to us

by the testimony of the senses. We see

it, hear it, smell it, taste it, and touch it.

But observe that, after all, this is

indirect testimony. These impressions

are all of them simply brain

impressions. We see, hear, smell, taste,

and touch, in our consciousness only.

We cannot assert therefore that matter

exists apart from this consciousness.

Science has nothing to say about the

ultimate nature of matter. Science

studies matter simply as a fact of human

experience. We are not concerned in

physics with what things really are, but

solely with their properties and

behavior. Physics neither offers nor

seeks an explanation of the universe. It

leaves all such problems to

metaphysics." — From the Text-book

on Physics by Henderson and Woodhill

of Columbia University.

25

FROM SICKNESS TO HEALTH

Matter is non-intelligent, even if

it were real, which it is not. Matter, so-

called, possesses neither consciousness

nor the power of motion. It cannot plan

its own states. It cannot re-arrange

itself, whether in the mass or in

molecular relations. Matter, so-called, is

a belief or shadow of substance, which

mortal mind images forth as a medium

in which and through which mortal

mind can depict its operations.

Therefore all states and conditions of

matter, whether of the mortal body or

other manifestations of matter, are

determined by mortal mind, unless,

through the operation of Scientific

Christianity, mortal mind has been

brought under control by the conscious

application of divine Mind, — in which

case the body is, in a sense, controlled

by divine Mind, and continues to be,

more and more, until such time as the

belief of matter is completely dispelled.

It is well to understand what

some phases of the mortal belief are,

and certain claims of mortal mind are

herewith set forth. If a person entertains

in his consciousness, in an habitual way,

anger, anxiety, grief, malice,

covetousness, discontent, lust, envy,

self-condemnation, or any inharmonious

mental state, or any mental state that is

unlike the divine Mind, that mental

condition is almost sure, sooner or later,

to be pictured forth in some

inharmonious condition of the body,

named disease, whether organic or

inorganic, so-called. Any of these

inharmonious or non godlike mental

states, if habitual, gradually result in

impeded and irregular action of one or

more of the bodily organs, resulting in

the development of poisons in the

system, and in mal- nutrition and the

imperfect assimilation of food. These

conditions tend to increase, and almost

any kind of a disease may result.

Almost any up-to-date physician would

agree that this is so.

A gentleman of the author's

acquaintance went into the office of an

expert blood analyst, and had a drop of

blood drawn from his wrist, he being at

the time in an ordinary, contented frame

of mind. Microscopic and other analysis

of the drop showed the blood to be pure.

Then the gentleman purposely

thought about a matter concerning

which it was easy for him to become

angry. After twenty minutes of this, he

had a drop of blood drawn, and the

analysis showed the presence of both

pus and bile. This fact ought to make it

evident how disease often starts.

The foregoing is a statement and

illustration of the workings of mortal

mind, error, and represents a condition

of affairs to be overcome; and the

mortal-mind cause, so-called, has to be

overcome before the mortal-mind

effect, so-called, can be overcome,

another way of saying which is, that the

sin must be overcome before the disease

resulting from it can be overcome. The

inharmonious and non godlike mental

conditions must be corrected, and

harmonious and Godlike mental

conditions must be established in their

places, before the disease can be healed.

Sometimes the realization of the

practitioner, or of the patient himself

when he is reading the Bible or

Christian Science literature with the true

understanding, may be so clear and

absolute as to overcome both the sin

and the disease in a few moments, or in

a single treatment. In that case, the

mortal-mind cause, so-called, and

mortal-mind effect, so-called, are both

overcome as part of one and the same

act. How- ever, where the healing is not

immediate, it is worth while to gain it

by faithful and continued work. Under

such a program, the chief effort of the

patient and practitioner should be to

26

overcome the inharmonious mental

habits, being sure that, as soon as they

are overcome, or very soon after, the

disease will disappear. Some of the

following suggestions will apply to one

person and some to another. Each will

doubtless be able to pick out what

applies to himself or herself.

Are you tempted to be

frequently angry at your fellowmen, or

at yourself, or at animals and things

which are around you? "Cease from

anger, and forsake wrath: fret not

yourself in any wise to do evil." "Be not

hasty in your spirit to be angry: for

anger resteth in the bosom of fools."

"He that hath no rule over his own spirit

is like a city that is broken down." "Let

all bitterness, and wrath, and anger, and

clamor and evil speaking, be put away

from you, with all malice."

Are you tempted to entertain and

dwell upon lustful thoughts? Remember

that the lusts of the flesh are not

ordained of God, and are not known to

God. They have no part in the divine

Mind. They do not belong to the true

man, which is your true self-hood, and

which it is your business to

demonstrate. "Be ye perfect, even as

your Father in heaven is perfect."

Entertain no thought or desire which

your heavenly Father does not entertain.

"Let no man say when he is tempted, I

am tempted (tried) of God: for God

cannot be tempted with evil, neither

tempteth He any man: but every man is

tempted when he is drawn away of his

own lust and enticed. When lust hath

conceived, it bringeth forth sin, and sin,

when it is finished, bringeth forth

(disease and) death. Do not err, my

beloved brethren. Every good gift and

every perfect gift is from above (and not

from the earth or from the flesh) and

cometh down from the Father of lights,

with whom is no variableness, neither

shadow of turning: Of His own will

begat He us with the word of truth (not

by any fleshly process) that we should

be a kind of first fruit of His creatures.

Wherefore, lay aside all filthiness, and

superfluity of naughtiness, and receive

with meekness the engrafted word

which is able to save your souls."

Are you tempted to continued

grief over the loss of some cherished

possession or over the so-called death of

some loved one? Know that God has

made all that really is, and that nothing

which He has made can be destroyed.

Know that no real good is, in truth,

separated from you for an instant, and

know that it is not in the power of error

to keep you very long from realizing

this fact. All that seems lost to you will

soon be restored to you with a more

perfect and satisfying possession or

understanding thereof, — and the

sooner in proportion as you know this to

be true, and have confidence in the

imperishability of that which is good.

Nothing is lost in truth, nor is the

realization thereof lost very long to

those who know this fact. "I would that

you sorrow not as those who know not

the gospel." God does not grieve over

anything. He has no occasion to. In

truth, you are His image and likeness;

and you have no occasion for grief, if

you do not allow yourself to be

deceived by appearances, but, on the

contrary, hang on to your Scientific

knowledge of things as they are. The

world thinks that it is a virtue to grieve

under certain conditions, and that it

would be unnatural in an opprobrious

sense not to do so; but do not be

deceived by the world's judgment.

There is no virtue in grief. The Christian

who really believes his faith has little

occasion for grief. Put it out of mind as

not belonging to your high calling in

Christ Jesus, if you would be holy,

happy and well.

Are you tempted to be anxious

about anything? Are you given to worry

and fretting? No person ever bettered

his condition in the least by entertaining

any such sentiments; but many have

27

done themselves, in appearance,

incalculable harm by cherishing anxiety

and worry. Do your duties by God, by

your fellow-men and by yourself, hour

by hour, and day by day, as well as you

know how, and let it rest at that. "Why

are ye anxious for the morrow, what ye

shall eat, or what ye shall drink, or

wherewithal ye shall be clothed? Seek

ye first the kingdom of God, and His

righteousness, and all these things shall

be added unto you." Do the best thing

you can discover at all times. Having

done that "be careful (full of care) for

nothing." As some one once said: "If

you can do anything about it, why don't

you? And if you can't, what is the use of

worrying about it?" But if you believe

God, you have no occasion to worry. If

you really believe and trust Him, your

needs will be met, day by day, whether

you can see the way in advance or not.

Are you doubtful or discouraged

because you are not healed quicker?

That is the devil's device to keep you in

an inharmonious state of mind, so that,

in belief, your food will not assimilate,

your bodily organs will not act properly,

and poisons will continue to be secreted

in your system. Do not be caught by this

snare of the devil. Know that God made

man, that all God's works are perfect;

that health and harmony are eternal laws

of God, and are present facts. Resting in

this assurance be hopeful, cheerful,

patient and persistent. Maintain the joy

of the Lord. Rule out all inharmonious

and non godlike emotions and

sentiments. Keep them out by relying

on God and by meditating on His law. If

you do this persistently, the mortal-

mind so-called causes of your trouble

will be removed; your food will

assimilate better; mal-nutrition will

gradually cease; poisons will cease to be

formed; the poisons already in your

system, in belief, will be gradually

eliminated; new and healthy tissues will

be built up. It often takes time to

accomplish this, but what of it? You

entertained wrong mental states for

weeks and months before the resulting

disease developed. Is it any wonder that

you should be required to entertain right

and God-like habits of thought for

weeks before the disease disappears?

And do you not see that if you allow

yourself to vacillate between hope and

fear, between confidence and doubt,

between trust in God and anxiety, and

do not trust God with your whole heart,

you are delaying your healing just so

much? It is practically certain that if

you maintain a confident, hopeful,

cheerful frame of mind, without

interruption, for a number of weeks

consecutively, beneficial physical

results will be in evidence. "Why art

thou cast down, O my soul? And why

art thou disquieted within me? Hope

thou in God: for I shall yet praise Him,

who is the health of my countenance,

and my God." The summation of the

matter is : If you want to be well,

believe in God, and the all-power and

all-presence of good; in the essential

nothingness and non permanency of evil

in its every manifestation ; cultivate and

maintain God-like qualities of mind;

cast out and refuse to entertain all non

godlike qualities of mind, however

much excuse there may seem to be for

entertaining them; keep your confidence

in God, and keep on doing it ; and,

meanwhile, place your sole reliance for

healing upon Spirit, and withdraw your

reliance absolutely from matter,

whether in the form of drugs, or in any

other form, thus honoring the Lord your

God with your whole trust and with

your whole reliance. Follow this

program faithfully and without

cessation; and "our reward is sure; and

it will come in such time as is really for

your best good. To carry out this

program, do not hesitate at any amount

of effort, nor at any reasonable expense,

nor at any sacrifice of worldly plans and

pleasures; for that which you will attain

as the result of this program will be the

28

salvation of your soul, the being made

whole and God-like in your

consciousness.

Your particular disease may be

one which was not caused in the

beginning by any inharmonious mental

state which you were cherishing, but

may have been caused by an accident,

by being poisoned in some way, by the

mortal belief of contagion, by the

mortal belief of having taken germs into

your system through drinking water, or

food, or otherwise, or by any one of a

variety of so-called causes of disease

extraneous to your thought. Even if this

be the case, yet you probably have been

through a long period of fear, anxiety,

doubt, and discouragement incident to

the disease and to complications in your

affairs which your diseased condition

may have resulted in. Hence, very

likely, there has developed in your

system, in belief, more or less of the

inactive and poisonous conditions

which result from fear, anxiety, and

discouragement, and, in this way, the

original disease has been aggravated

and perpetuated in your consciousness,

and in the bodily manifestation. Hence,

to heal the disease requires the

overcoming and casting out of fear,

anxiety, doubt, and discouragement,

almost or quite as much as though the

disease had been caused originally by

some untoward mental condition. Little

or nothing may stand in the way of your

healing except the inharmonious and

un-godlike mental conditions which you

are cherishing, whether your disease

originated in such conditions or not. If

the disease did not originate in improper

mental emotions which you were

cherishing, then the disease came on

without sin on your own part; and it

ought to be easily overcome, if you

have not allowed sin (un-godlike mental

emotions) to creep in and occupy your

consciousness because of the disease.

As said before, you should "right about

face," place your hope, your trust, your

confidence, in God, and keep on doing

so without vacillation. Then the disease

will commence to yield, and be

completely overcome, whatever its

original cause, so-called, may have

been. The whole universe is ruled

absolutely by God, Love, unadulterated

good. If you actually believe this, you

have nothing to fear, nothing to be

anxious about, nothing to be

discouraged about. It is only the

cherishing of fear, anxiety, doubt, and

discouragement which can long cloud

over from your realization the health,

harmony, strength and abundance which

God has provided from the foundation

of the world, and which are already

yours, and which are constantly closer

to you than the air you breathe, and

from which, in reality, you can never

get away. Therefore, don't be afraid;

don't be anxious; don't grieve; don't be

discouraged: you cannot afford to. Hope

and trust in God; and keep at it, through

thick and thin of the clouds of mortal

error, and they will soon vanish entirely.

"All the good law and all the

good order which the state or church

enjoys to-day may be traced back over

some route to the words and deeds of

men who rebelled against the kind of

law and the kind of order that they

found administered by its 'constituted

guardians'; to men who dared to appeal

from the 'keepers of divine truth' to

divine truth itself — from the 'trustees

of God' to God himself." — Selected.

29

WORKING IN TRUTH

"Trust in the Lord with all thy

heart, and lean not to thine own

understanding, but in all thy ways

acknowledge Him, and He shall direct

thy paths."

To trust in God is not an inactive

state of mind, and is not most apropos

when every- thing is, to human sense,

smooth sailing. We have more need of

trust in God in time of outward storm

than in time of outward calm.

To rightly trust in God is not a

passive condition, but is to actively lay

hold on and declare the supremacy,

allness, and potency of the everlasting

laws of God, good, and to keep doing

this every moment, until we have won

inward peace,— and not only peace, but

joy, — and not only joy, but the

conscious sense of power, the

realization that no error can stand before

us because we have consciously taken

our stand with the law, the dynamic

energy, of God. We are fighting with

the sword of the Spirit, which is the

word of God.

If we can keep ourselves in this

active realization of peace, joy in good,

and power, at least part of the time

daily, and especially if we can so

reverse the arguments of mortal mind as

to rise into this sense of spiritual power

at those special times when error would

argue the reality of discouragement,

injustice, grief, separation, etc., to us, so

that we shall maintain a peaceful

consciousness all of the time, rising at

times into the active, assertive

realization of the presence and power of

unity, justice, and love, the outward

discord will soon disappear.

Error is most surely making

headway in enforcing its so-called law,

when it has induced us to listen to its

argument for the reality of injustice,

separation, misunderstanding,

discouragement, grief, and other

falsehoods, and this is just the time

when error needs to be met. It is not

wise to say to ourselves, Well, I will

yield to this sense of discouragement, or

smarting, or grief, or injustice, or what

not, until the mood passes, and then,

when I am not under temptation, when I

feel calmer, I will work in the truth. To

assume this attitude, is to allow error to

entrench itself, which is always unwise

and sometimes dangerous; it is to allow

ourselves to get into a frame of mind

where we are liable to do or say some

unwise thing against our own right

interests. Moreover, to assume this

attitude is to sacrifice a golden

opportunity.

If we make the initial effort, we

shall find that we can rise to a clearness

and strength of realization of the

presence and active power of good in its

various phases at the very time when

temptation to doubt, discouragement,

grief, anxiety, and the like is upon us, to

a degree that we cannot attain to at any

other time. The really brave man

experiences a sense of courage in the

face of danger that he could not

possibly conjure up at a time when no

danger was apparent. So the true

Christian can realize a degree of love, at

the very time when error is trying to

argue hate or unfairness or jealousy,

without or within, or both, that he

otherwise would find difficulty in

attaining.

Likewise, the true Christian, if

he takes advantage of his opportunity,

can realize joy in good, — joy in the

knowledge that it is in his power to

enforce good, joy in the certain prospect

of seeing error, injustice, falsehood,

narrowness, go down before the mental

enforcement of Love, — to a degree

that, at his present stage of growth, he

cannot attain to except when he is

spurred to rise to such a spiritual height

by a conscious reaction against outward

suggestions or occasions for grief,

30

anxiety, or fear. And so the true

Christian meets every outward phase of

error, in the very moment of its

appearing, with a superlative realization

of the presence and potency of the

opposing phase of good, and of his

power through right mental work to

enforce that phase of good to the

overcoming and total destruction of the

manifest phase of error. Thus hatred,

malice, envy, jealousy, revenge, are met

with the realization and mental

enforcement of Love; injustice with the

realization and enforcement of justice;

fear with the realization and

enforcement of the omnipotence of

God, good.

Just as the courage of the trained

soldier rises instantaneously and

automatically in the face of danger,

likewise we can rapidly so train

ourselves that the disposition to the

mental enforcement of the law of God,

good, shall spring up in our

consciousness instantaneously and

spontaneously upon the appearance of

error in any phase, — and this, too, as

previously remarked, to a degree that

we could not now attain to except in the

face of some obstacle to be overcome.

And it is this instantaneous, superlative

realization and enforcement of good

that is of supreme value in overcoming

and destroying error. It does not permit

us to virtually consent to the reality of

error any- where from a few hours to a

few days before waking up to combat it,

thus allowing error to entrench itself in

our consciousness and in the outward

situation; but it meets error on the spot,

and with a clearness and potency of

realization to which we could not attain

if we were less prompt in turning to

God; and thus error is stifled and cast

into outer darkness, its native

nothingness, often in the very moment

of its seeming birth, and usually before

it has assumed large apparent

proportions.

In dealing with mental errors,

such as anger, jealousy, injustice,

selfishness, narrowness, as manifest

through those with whom we are

associated, it is usually wiser not to say

very much audibly, or to be drawn into

discussions, but to mentally enforce the

law of God. "Though we walk in the

flesh, we do not war after the flesh (by

human speech and understanding); for

the weapons of our warfare are not

carnal, but mighty through God (Love)

to the pulling down of strongholds,

casting down imaginations and every

high thing that exalteth itself against the

knowledge of God, and bringing into

captivity every thought (within or

without) to the obedience of Christ." If

thou art obeying God, and art thus the

child of God, "no weapon that is formed

against thee shall prosper; and every

tongue that shall rise against thee in

judgment thou shalt condemn. This is

the heritage of the servants of the Lord,

and their righteousness is of me saith

the Lord." Let us mentally enforce this

law. Let us train ourselves to do it

immediately and automatically and

confidently whenever error asserts

itself. "Watch" "Pray (aspire after,

realize and enforce good) without

ceasing." "Be instant in season, out of

season." Thus shall we uniformly have

peace, joy and victory in God, — and

oftentimes the more in the very

moments when error is most assertive,

until, at the last, we shall have part in

the final victory when all error shall

disappear, never to appear again.

Thus far the overcoming of

discord in the mental realm has been

spoken of; but discord ill the so-called

physical realm is to be removed in the

same way. Apparent disease or

weakness in the body should be

instantly met with the realization and

enforcement of the laws of harmony and

strength, and the sense of poverty or

accident should be overcome with the

continued and vivid realization and

31

declaration that plenty and order are the

everlasting facts of being, and that there

are no contrary facts. All that appears to

the contrary is not fact, but destructible

illusion.

The affairs of mortals, both

mental and physical, often get into sad

tangles, and grow worse and worse past

their power to help; but this is not the

case with true Christians. "All things

work together for good to them that

love God," to them that love Him

actively enough to be on the alert to

realize and enforce His law, in their

own consciousness first, and then

outwardly in the circle of their

legitimate affairs.

32

HINDRANCES TO HEALING (Reprinted from the C. S. Journal of July, 1909)

Usually it is not difficult for a

patient to see that unbelief, lack of

understanding, sin, doubt,

discouragement, fear, and lack of

application tend to retard or prevent

healing in Christian Science. But there

are hindrances of another class which

stand in the way of the desired end, and

which are usually more difficult for the

patient to discern. These appear in the

way solely because the patient has not

learned the lesson of self-surrender. He

does not know what self-surrender is or

means, hence he does not know how to

go about it; and this not having been

accomplished, the unconscious assertion

of self leads him to put many stumbling

blocks in his own way.

Jesus said to his disciples; "If

any man will come after me, let him

deny himself and take up his cross, and

follow me." The self which must be

denied or renounced is the carnal mind

which Paul declared is "enmity against

God: for it is not subject to the law of

God, neither indeed can be." Many

people have not care- fully thought out

these matters, or carefully searched the

Scriptures with regard to them, but it is

the implicit belief of the average person

that we get into the understanding of the

truth and the kingdom of God by

commencing where we are, and by

correcting, developing, and enlarging

that which we already have, until finally

we shall reach perfection. Those,

however, who act upon this theory

make as radical a mistake as did those

of ancient times who thought to start

upon the earth as a foundation and build

a tower which would reach to heaven.

God brought their work to utter

confusion and destruction, as He does

with the work of those who try to build

spiritual life, or to gain spiritual health,

on the basis of the carnal mind.

Said the apostle, "Other

foundation can no man lay than that is

laid, which is Jesus Christ;" and in

immediate connection with this

declaration we also find these words:

"Let no man deceive himself. If any

man among you seemeth to be wise in

this world, let him become a fool, that

he may be wise. For the wisdom of this

world is foolishness with God." The fact

is, that before we can learn much of the

saving truth, we must be willing and

ready to discard, as having no truth,

reliability, or permanent value, all of

that habit of thought and all of our so-

called knowledge which is directly or

indirectly based on the body or the

testimony of the senses. In the measure

that we have emptied our minds of

"philosophy and vain deceit, after the

tradition of men, after the rudiments of

the world," we are ready to learn and

experience the benefits of Truth. Said

Jesus: "Except ye be converted and

become as little children, ye shall not

enter into the kingdom of heaven..

Whosoever therefore shall humble

himself as this little child, the same is

greatest in the kingdom of heaven."

Jesus said again: "No man can come to

me, except the Father which hath sent

me draw him;" that is, we cannot bring

our mortal selves, our carnal minds, to

God. We must renounce, or give up, the

carnal mind, and let the Spirit be

manifested in us; and thus we come to

Christ. Self not having been renounced,

it crops out in various ways, to the

hindrance of the demonstration of Truth

and of the patient's progress. Some of

these ways we do well to consider, not

for the purpose of condemning those

who have been ignorant that they were

transgressing the law of Spirit, but for

the purpose of helping all to uncover

and recognize the error, so that we may

turn away from it and follow in the true

33

way. Most people, when they turn to

Truth for help, do so, not because they

care about Truth, but because they care

about themselves. They want God's

help, if He has any to bestow, but it may

not even occur to them that they are to

make any sacrifice therefor except the

payment of some money to a

practitioner and the giving up of some

of their time to reading under the

practitioner's direction. At the start they

do not know that Truth requires of them

to gain a totally new and different

understanding of life and health, and

also in some ways to follow after a

different manner of life; but after a time

they begin to perceive something of

what the demands of Truth are, and then

comes the test. Will they renounce self

as manifested in the former ways of

thought and living, and follow after the

truth, because it is the truth, irrespective

of whether they have already received

benefits or not? If so, then they are loyal

to the truth, and unless they are placing

stumbling-blocks in their own way

along some other line, they will be

healed in God's own time; for they have

fulfilled the condition: "Seek ye first the

kingdom of God, and his righteousness;

and all these things shall be added unto

you."

Many people desire to buy (with

as small an expenditure as possible)

their health, with the conscious or

unconscious purpose to go on living

their former lives of worldly pleasure,

when health has been attained. The

error and disappointment of such people

are well described by St. James: "Ye

ask, and receive not, because ye ask

amiss, that ye may consume it upon

your lusts. Ye adulterers and

adulteresses know ye not that the

friendship of the world is enmity with

God? Whoever therefore will be a

friend of the world is the enemy of God.

God resisteth the proud, but giveth

grace unto the humble. Submit

yourselves therefore to God. Resist the

devil, and he will flee from you. Draw

nigh to God, and he will draw nigh to

you.. Humble yourselves in the sight of

the Lord, and he shall lift you up."

When an individual has the

proper appreciation of the healing truth

he will feel toward it as Jesus describes

in Matthew's Gospel: "The kingdom of

heaven is like unto a merchant man,

seeking goodly pearls: who, when he

had found one pearl of great price, went

and sold ail that he had, and bought it."

The lesson on this point is further

enforced by the teachings of Jesus,

when he counseled the rich young man

to give up all his possessions and

become his follower.

If we have firmly determined to

sacrifice all, if necessary, for Truth,

very often we shall not be called upon

to make the sacrifice; and it is an

immense help toward healing to have

this point settled in the patient's mind,

so that he will not acquire the habit of

measuring a benefit received by the

money paid out, but will have his mind

at rest upon this question, that he may

be free to attend to lines of thought

which are beneficial instead of

detrimental. We are by no means so

ready to be healed by Spirit, if we are

all the time judging and examining

results with the critical disposition of

mortal calculation. The thing to do is to

make ready to surrender our all to

Spirit, and thus be the better prepared to

receive the gifts of Spirit.

A student who is really

interested in his studies does not long

for his school-days to cease. If he could

in any way manage it, he would be glad

to spend his time and money to go on in

school and college indefinitely, and so

in the case of the person who loves

music. Likewise, a patient, if he loves

the truth for its own sake, will not be in

a hurry to get through with his

practitioner, if the practitioner is helping

him to a higher understanding of Truth.

A patient who is not anxious to get out

34

from under his practitioner's care at the

earliest possible moment, for the sake of

saving time and money, but who takes

such a mental attitude that he is always

looking for an opportunity to learn more

of Truth, for which he is as glad to

make return as is the average person for

the theater or the excursion, is certain to

have healing and all other needed good

added unto him.

There are some who come into a

partial understanding of Science, but

who say to themselves or others that

they are not ready to believe until the}^

have had a sign in demonstration of the

truth by being healed, notwithstanding

that they know of plenty of signs which

have been given in the healing of other

people. If a person makes the receiving

of a sign the condition of his believing,

he seldom gets it. The reason evidently

is that those who would test Truth by

outward signs wish to walk by sight,

instead of walking by faith or

understanding. They have not

surrendered self, or the carnal mind,

which wants to test everything by sense

testimony. Self, or carnal mind, is prone

to set itself up as a judge, and say to

Science: "Come now, pass in review

before me, and show your works. If

they are satisfactory, I will believe you."

But Science may not be reviewed by

mortal mind in this fashion. It demands

rather that mortal mind, instead of

setting itself up to judge, shall

completely humble itself and say: "I am

not fit or worthy to know or judge

anything."

Several times, people came to

Jesus asking for signs in order that they

might believe. Jesus gave plenty of

signs to those who did not ask for them;

but to people who did ask for them he

said: "An evil and adulterous generation

seeketh after a sign; and there shall no

sign be given to it, but the sign of the

prophet Jonas." The sign of the prophet

Jonas, as given in the Bible story, was

this: Jonas was commanded of the Spirit

to go to a certain place and do a certain

work. Jonas did not respond to the

summons obediently, but rather took

ship to go in exactly the opposite

direction. He was thrown into the sea,

swallowed by a whale, and carried back

to where he started from, and was told

to do that which Spirit commanded. So

it will be with every mortal man. In the

end he will be obliged to do that which

Truth demands of him; there- fore the

sooner he does it, the better for him.

Jesus did give to doubting Thomas a

sign ; but, when Thomas expressed his

belief because of the sign, Jesus

rebuked him, saying: "Thomas, because

thou hast seen me, thou hast believed:

blessed are they that have not seen, and

yet have believed."

Many people, when they are

taking treatment, make the mistake of

saying to themselves or others: "Now I

will take treatment so many days, or so

many weeks, and then, if I am not

healed, I will stop." This is another

attempt of the carnal mind (self) to set

limits and make conditions for Truth,

while Truth demands that the carnal

mind shall completely humble itself.

Said Jesus: "It is not for you to know

the times or the seasons, which the

Father hath put in his own

power." And again he said: "In such an

hour as ye think not the Son of man

cometh." If we did not set ourselves up

to dictate times and seasons to Spirit,

but in humility were to let Spirit have its

own way, our mental attitude would be

such that we would be healed in days,

instead of the weeks consumed under

the conditions which we have

prescribed. The true mental attitude is

this: "Not my will, but thine be done."

Patients whose healing is

somewhat delayed, are often tempted to

set themselves up to judge the work of

Spirit by comparing their own case with

that of some they know who have been

healed much more quickly. This

disposition is thoroughly rebuked by

35

Jesus in the parable given us in the

twentieth chapter of Matthew. All that

Christ, Truth, can bestow upon any

person is understanding, plenty,

holiness, healing, and joy in the Spirit.

These are symbolized in the parable by

the "penny." It is not for us to complain

whether we are required to work for

these one hour or twelve hours, twelve

days or twelve months. It is our

business simply to follow in the way

and be faithful.

Neither should we be envious or

attempt to judge the situation by the

case of those who are healed more

quickly than are we. Not in- frequently

those who are speedily healed do not

acquire so clear an understanding of the

truth of Science, and if our fuller

understanding must come in advance of

the healing, we need not complain, but

rather rejoice that by any expenditure of

time and effort it may be attained.

Impatience and haste are great

detriments to healing. Many times it is

not realized until after the patient has

consciously acquired and assimilated an

entirely new understanding of life and

health. It was so in the writer's case.

During many weary weeks he got no

apparent benefit from treatment, until he

came unto the understanding and

acceptance of Christian Science as Jesus

taught and practiced it. After he gained

this understanding, his healing was

rapid and thorough.

St. Paul tells us: "Be not

conformed to this world : but be ye

transformed by the renewing of your

mind, that ye may prove what is that

good, and acceptable, and perfect, will

of God." It is only because we are in a

false sense of ourselves that we seem to

be sick, and we have to be transformed

out of this false mind, which conforms

to this world's way of thinking, into the

Mind of Spirit, which is the Mind of

health, joy, strength, peace, and life

eternal. To accomplish this

transformation is the greatest, most

important, and most beneficent task that

any human being ever did or ever can

undertake; and to attain this

transformation in understanding and

realization often requires weeks,

sometimes months. Suppose it does.

Should we not be as willing to spend all

the time necessary to gain the

understanding of the Science of eternal

life, and to gain permanently our health

in the process, as to spend much money

and months of time to learn the science

of algebra, or astronomy, or chemistry?

The Bible contains many

exhortations to be patient and persistent

while we are being healed by Spirit,

God. Let us read and heed the following

as a single example: "For we know that

the whole creation groaneth and

travaileth in pain together until now.

And not only they, but ourselves also,

which have the first fruits of the Spirit,

even we ourselves groan within

ourselves, waiting for the adoption, to

wit, the redemption of our body. For we

are saved by hope; but hope that is seen

is not hope: for what a man seeth, why

doth he yet hope for? But if we hope for

that we see not, then do we with

patience wait for it."

Patients often unconsciously

maintain a spirit of self-righteousness,

which acts very much to their own

detriment. They may say, "I have done,

as nearly as I could, what the

practitioner told me, I have paid for my

treatment, and I have tried earnestly to

avoid committing sin. I do not see why I

am not healed." If the patient can

truthfully make such an assertion, then

perchance but one thing is lacking,

namely, self-surrender through love.

Without love, we do all these things in a

calculating spirit, in a spirit of

bargaining, saying to ourselves that

because we have done such and such

things therefore we have a right to

expect such and such things in return.

But love never calculates and never

bargains. A lover bestows time and gifts

36

freely upon his friend, looking for

nothing in return except her love, and is

continually seeking other ways in which

he may serve and please. He does not

calculate and bargain with her, even in

his own thought. Because he approaches

her in this way, his friend, though

reserved and hesitant at first, at length

comes to the point where she is ready to

bestow upon him her unreserved

affection.

So if we seek the truth, not

because we are looking for what it will

bestow, but because we really love it for

its own sake and are anxious to spend

time and money in acquiring it and

serving it, then its riches speedily

become our possession. The proper way

to seek the truth may be expressed in

the following paraphrase: I take thee for

better, for worse; for richer, for poorer;

in sickness and in health; in prosperity

and adversity; to love and to cherish, to

have and to hold forever; and upon thee

I bestow all my worldly goods. Truth,

thus sought, will not long withhold her

blessings.

37

TRUSTING GOD

Except in so far as it prevents

fear and worry, — which is much, if

actually accomplished, — it does not do

very much good to blindly trust our

mortal affairs to God, on the

supposition that He orders them and

will take care of them. God does not

order mortal affairs; for mortal affairs

are only mistaken senses of things. God

and His work, and all affairs that He

orders, are immortal. God, being

immortal, does not make or order any-

thing mortal.

Suppose one had problems in

mathematics to work, and should say:

"Well, I will trust the principle of

mathematics to work out these

problems." It is true, that such problems

can only be worked out by the principle

of mathematics; yet the person desiring

the solution of a problem has something

to do in the matter. He must understand

mathematics, and apply that

understanding, in order to solve his

problem; or he must have his problems

solved by someone else who

understands mathematics, and will

apply that understanding for him.

Likewise, in order to overcome

ills, a man must understand God and

consciously apply his understanding in

order to overcome these ills; or he must

have them overcome for him by

someone else who understands God,

and will apply that understanding in his

behalf, else the ills will not be

overcome. No amount of blind trust will

remove them; neither will they be

removed by prayers or petitions to a

supposed God, who is supposed to have

established these ills, waiting for

someone to pray to Him before He will

remove them. There is no such God.

Christian Science teaches us

how to understand God; and how to

apply our understanding to the present

overcoming of sin, disease, discord, and

poverty; and, sometime, either in this or

some future stage of growth, our

increased understanding of God will

enable us to permanently overcome our

sense of materiality and death.

The fact that men use the laws of

mathematics for the solution of many

problems shows that they are entirely

sure that the correct application of these

laws will bring correct and useful

results, and they evidence their trust in

these laws by learning them and using

them intelligently; not relying on them

while yet remaining in ignorance of

them.

The trust in God which is

effectual in results requires not only a

thorough comprehension and detailed

knowledge of the laws of God, but a

practically available knowledge of

them. To illustrate: Before a boy can

learn the multiplication table to any

purpose, such expressions as: "Three

times four equals twelve," "Five times

six equals thirty," and so on, must be

illustrated to him, so that he clearly

understands their meaning. Then he

must commit to memory these

expressions arranged in tables. This

requires much close application, much

concentration of thought, and much

repetition and drill on his part; but even

after he has mastered the tables so that

he can recite them glibly, he still lacks a

knowledge of them that can be put to

much practical use. For instance,

suppose the boy is given a problem, to

multiply 465 by 23. When he is

confronted by the demand that he

multiply five by three, he may not know

the result, except as he has learned it by

rote in the table ; so he must go through

a process, as follows: "Three times one

are three, three times two are six, etc.,"

until he reaches "three times five are

fifteen." By this process, he is able to

reach the truth he seeks ; but he has not

yet acquired independent knowledge of

it.

38

Suppose that, at the point where

the boy knows his addition, subtraction

and multiplication tables by rote, he is

sent to the market to buy six oranges at

three cents each, and with a quarter of a

dollar to pay for them; and suppose the

clerk who makes the change is inclined

to be dishonest, and gives the boy four

cents in change, instead of seven. The

boy, not being familiar with the

mathematical reasoning involved, is

likely to be confused by the situation.

He indistinctly perceives that he has not

been given enough change, and yet his

knowledge of the facts is not instant and

ready-on-demand. He timidly suggests

to the clerk that he has not been given

the right change, and the clerk,

assuming a bold air, replies: "Yes, your

change is all right." "But, but — ",

ventures the boy-. "Run along, I tell

you; your change is all right," blusters

the clerk, and, not being sufficiently

sure of his ground to make a stand, the

boy goes away defrauded. If the boy

had acquired an independent and

instantaneous command of the problem,

then, when the clerk undertook to cheat

him, a look of surprise would instantly

and automatically have come into his

face, and that, in all probability, would

have shown the clerk that his purpose to

defraud was useless, and he would have

said: "Oh, excuse me, I did not give you

the right change." But if the clerk had

tried to hold his ground, with what

absolute and positive assurance would

the boy have claimed his right! He

would have stood for his due until he

got it. An instantly available knowledge

of the truth would have protected him

against the imposition.

So, too, when we have learned

what the laws of God are, and then have

so thoroughly drilled them into our

consciousness by meditation,

declaration, and application, that, when

any suggestion from within or without

contrary to those laws rises in our

experience, we are instantly and

automatically surprised that there

should be even a presumption that any

thought or circumstance could

successfully assert or carry through

anything in thought or experience

contrary to the laws of God, then we are

protected against suffering and loss, as

we never can be by any degree of

knowledge less thoroughly assimilated

in consciousness.

It is therefore often useful for a

person to declare and endeavor to

realize, many times per day, that love,

joy, peace, and confidence in good are

laws of God, and therefore of our being;

that whenever we tolerate fear, anxiety,

worry, doubt, or grief, we are breaking

the law, and living a lie: that harmony,

health, strength, action, life, express the

laws of God, and that whenever we

tolerate, without pro- test, thoughts or

feelings of sickness, pain, weakness,

inaction, or death, we are breaking the

law, and living a lie. He who thus drills

right thoughts into his consciousness,

until they are brought into the very

forefront of thought, and so cannot be

forgotten when they are needed, and

who orders his course in accordance

with divine law, wall be subject to very

little suffering, either mental or physical

and to very little loss in any way.

39

REJOICING IN TRIBULATION

A Christian man once said to a

friend: "I do not believe that there is

anyone in this city who feels richer than

I do, today." "Why," the friend inquired,

"what makes you feel that way?" "My

feeling arises in connection with a

financial difficulty," was the reply. "My

rent has not been paid for the last two

months." "I do not see how you can feel

rich over that," said the surprised friend;

"I should think that you would feel quite

the contrary." "Yes," answered the man,

"I supposed you would think so. I know

that you have been worrying over the

condition of your business affairs, and

that is why I made this remark to you,

with the purpose of explaining my

reasons for feeling rich under the

circumstances that I have named,

although I certainly would avoid debt

when possible, and I am not ignoring

the rights of the landlord, of which I

shall speak later." Then the speaker

went on talking, somewhat as follows:

In the Scriptures, we are

exhorted to become "rich toward God,"

to "lay up for ourselves treasures in

heaven," and to "seek first the kingdom

of God, and His righteousness." The

Bible gives us to understand that

the only true riches are spiritual riches,

riches of consciousness, which are to be

gained from God alone. All men are

seeking what they call "happiness;" but

few know in what it really consists, or

how to find it. Happiness can be nothing

else than desirable states of

consciousness ; and the only desirable

states of consciousness, on which it is

possible to gain a lasting hold, are those

which are based upon the realization of

God and His manifestation in the

mentalities of men. God is the only

creator, the only power, the only

governor, the only law-maker. God is

everywhere present, and, according to

His nature, is always manifest as love,

joy, and peace. Hence, love, joy, and

peace, are the law of the universe, the

law of being, the law of every man's

mentality. When, therefore, a man

realizes love, joy and peace as

proceeding from God, and as being

based upon Him, rather than as

proceeding from material things or

human beings, he is truly living; but

when a man entertains fear, doubt, grief,

anxiety, foreboding, or any mental state

contrary to love, joy, peace, and

confidence in good, he is breaking the

law of his being, and is living a lie ; that

is, he really is not living at all, since

false life is not life. There is no actual

life which is not a manifestation of God,

which does not express love, peace, and

joy. Any other seeming life is only a

counterfeit, an appearance which is not

real. If we would really live, we must

manifest or reflect God.

Love, joy and peace which we

think we have because of. a hold upon

certain material possessions, or because

of relations socially agree- able, though

non-spiritual, with certain people, are

not the genuine article; they are

counterfeit ; they rest upon the wrong

foundation. But love, joy and peace,

which we know to be based upon God,

and which we hold because we are

conscious of right relations with Him,

these are the desirable states of

consciousness which constitute the only

true riches. Such riches are "the pearl of

great price," and, to gain them, it is

worth a man's while to part with

everything else that he has, if necessary.

It is the habit of most people to

seek for love, joy, and peace from

outward circumstances and from

people, and not from God.

Humanly speaking, men do not

come naturally by spiritual riches any

more than they come naturally by

mathematics or a musical education.

The true riches have to be laboriously

gained, just as every thing worth having

40

in this human world has to be gained.

Indeed, it is as unnatural for the carnal

man to live in spiritual consciousness,

and thus to be spiritually rich, as it is for

him to live in water. Men can learn to

support themselves in water, and to live

in water a considerable portion of the

time; and likewise, they can learn to live

in Spirit a great deal of the time, and to

enjoy themselves in spiritual life,

independently, for the most part, of

what is going on in matter or among

people. The following illustration may

help us to understand more clearly the

process which we must go through in

learning to live the spiritual life, and

thus to be truly rich.

Suppose a boy has set his heart

upon learning to swim. He will do well

to commence practicing in

comparatively shallow water. For a

time, he should remain where he can put

his feet down and touch bottom, at any

time that he desires, without being over

his head. But he will never be satisfied

with himself as a swimmer until he has

attained the ability to go out into deep

water, and remain there an hour at a

time. He should not go into deep water

too soon; but when he finds himself

swimming in deep water, he does not

lament, but rejoices. After remaining

out of touch with the ground for a time,

supported by the water only, he returns

to land; but, even while living on land,

he can have the satisfaction of knowing

that he is a swimmer worthy of the

name. To remain such, he must, of

course, spend considerable time in the

water and keep in practice.

A man who sets out to attain life

in and of the Spirit cannot learn to

support himself in spiritual

consciousness all at once, any more

than he can learn to swim all at once.

He must begin by learning to depend on

Spirit some- what, a little more each

week and month that passes, and to

depend correspondingly less and less

upon things and upon people for his

happiness. Thus, as he grows spiritually,

the time will come when he can

maintain peace and joy in consciousness

with practically no material means of

support in sight; and when a person of

any considerable length of experience in

the Christian life finds himself in such a

situation, instead of being anxious,

grieved, or frightened about it, he

should simply say to himself: "The

material foundations for peace, joy, and

confidence, on which I have been

accustomed to depend, are now, for the

time being, out of my reach; I am in the

deep water of Spirit. I wonder if, now, I

cannot so depend upon Spirit, God, that

I can maintain confidence, peace, and

joy on the basis of my realizing the

presence of spiritual good. A man of my

religious experience should not look

upon this present withdrawal of material

support as a calamity, but should regard

it as a testing time, by which I may

ascertain how strong my confidence in

God realty is ; and, if I find that I can

maintain my hold on joy, with little or

no material occasion for joy in sight, but

with outward temptations to the

contrary, I should rejoice in my present

situation, as much as does the boy who

has desired to learn to swim, when he

finds himself swimming with

confidence and success in deep water."

A man can never really know

whether he is a good swimmer or not,

so long as his feet are on the bottom.

Likewise, a man can never really know

whether he is strong in Spirit, if he has

never been tried by having human and

material foundations for confidence

swept away from him. But after a man

has been through such an experience,

after he has been \ in deep water with

God, and has found that he can maintain

the life of peace and joy in spite of

material lack, then he may return again

to a condition of material plenty; but,

even when dwelling in the midst of

material abundance, much as he did

before, he does so with a different

41

consciousness. He knows that he can

live by the Spirit, if necessary, as he did

not know before. He can say with St.

Paul: "I have learned both how to

abound, and how to suffer lack."

In the spiritual growth of each

one of us, it seems almost necessary

that, at some time, we shall be put

through a testing time; and, usually, the

testing time comes. If we measure up to

the test, if, instead of whining,

lamenting, and being afraid, we fall

back on our knowledge and realization

of God and His manifestations, and

determine to be happy anyway, even

more so because the time for us to be

worthy to be tested has arrived, — then

it invariably happens that, before very

long, the usual supply of human

comforts are restored to us; but if we do

not prove that we can live in peace and

joy alone with God, we will be forced to

endure a continuance of material lack,

or recurring experiences of it, until we

do learn the spiritual lesson of being

happy in spiritual possessions only.

There seems to be no way of escaping

such a testing time; and it is probably

essential to our spiritual growth that

there should be no way of escape, until

we have learned the requisite lesson.

Thus we learn the meaning of St. Paul's

experience of "rejoicing in tribulation."

It is from a standpoint of

realization such as this, to a large

extent, that the withdrawal of one's

material means of supply can be to him

a distinct occasion for feeling rich, rich

in the realization of spiritual good,

which constitutes the only true riches.

But the question may be raised:

"How about the landlord, from whom

the rent was being withheld? Suppose

that he might need it. What is to be said

from his point of view?" The reply is

that, of course, his tenant should pay the

rent, if he could, and, without doubt,

would do so. If he could not, it would

not help the situation in the least for him

to worry, fret, or be afraid; if anything,

for him to lapse into such a state of

mind, would becloud his intelligence,

sap his strength, and thus tend to

prevent his gaining the means to pay the

rent.

"But does God provide a testing

time for the real, spiritual advantage of

one of His children at the expense of

what seems like the just due of

another?" 'No, "God is no re- specter of

persons." "God is light, and in Him is

no darkness at all." God creates only

absolute good, and dwells in the

consciousness of nothing but absolute

good. He is immortal, and does not

create His opposite. He neither creates

nor orders material affairs. Men are in

darkness, and only reach light as they

work their way into a consciousness of

God. "The natural man receiveth not the

things of the spirit of God; for they are

spiritually discerned." If a landlord has

sufficiently learned his spiritual lesson

respecting the working out of

humanity's problem he will not be the

one at whose seeming expense the

spiritual growth of another will be

promoted; but. if he has not learned to

"live in the Spirit and walk in the

Spirit," then he, also, needs the

experience of being made to suffer

material lack, until he, too, wakes up

and learns his spiritual lesson.

Let us try to describe, at its best,

the life which is merely or mostly

human. A boy is born and reared in a

good family. He goes to school and

college, and is diligent and studious. He

keeps the moral law, and lives above

reproach among his fellow men. He

marries a girl of excellent family,

education, character and refinement.

They have children who are the

admiration of all who know them.

Before marrying, the man started in

business. He was and is intelligent and

capable. From the start, he makes a

good living. His debts are always paid

on the day they are due. He has a

reputation to be proud of in the business

42

world, and is proud of it. Men say of

him: "His word is as good as his bond."

He can borrow a reasonable amount of

money at any bank, because he is

known to be successful and honest and

to have accumulated some resources.

He and the members of his family

attend church regularly as a matter of

course, and support the church liberally.

They all move in the most intelligent

and refined social circles.

Now, all of this may be, and

sometimes is, what St. John

disapprovingly speaks of as, "the pride

of life," in the following text: "Love not

the world, neither the things that are in

the world ; for if any man love the

world, the love of the Father is not in

him; for all that is in the world, the lust

of the flesh, and the lust of the eyes, and

the pride of life, are not of the Father,

but of the world. And the world passeth

away, and the lust thereof; but he that

doeth the will of God abideth forever."

The man, whom we have described,

would doubtless think of himself, if

asked about it, as a godly man; but he

has never closely analyzed his own

thought. As a matter of fact, so far as he

thinks about it at all, he has an implicit

sense, that he is good, that he is honest

and upright, that he is diligent and

intelligent, that he has made a business

and social position for himself, that he

has accumulated property and made a

place in the world, that he is secure in

the good place which he has made. If

so, his sense of security, peace and joy

all rest on a false, material, and human

foundation, which, very likely, may

have to be swept from under his feet in

order that he may wake up to what is

the true foundation for security and joy,

namely, the knowledge of Spirit, God,

and not material goods and the good

opinion of men. The man has not yet

learned the significance of the words of

Jesus: "Why callest thou me good?

There is none good, save one that is

God." He has not yet taken to heart the

scripture which says: "Trust in the Lord

with all thy heart, and lean not to thine

own understanding; but in all thy ways

acknowledge Him, and He shall direct

thy paths."

But after such a man has

successfully experienced his testing

time (and fortunate is he who promptly

recognizes the opportunity for a test,

and its significance, when it comes) and

has proved that he can live in joy

without any special amount of worldly

goods or human approval, then, very

likely, all the outward possessions that

he had before will be given back to him

in multiplied measure; but let him

beware of again allowing his heart to

trust in his material riches. Let him

continue to be diligent to "lay up

treasures in heaven (in spiritual

consciousness) where moth and rust do

not corrupt, and where thieves do not

break through and steal."

God, the infinite Good, created

all that is, and Good never created its

opposite, any more than light could

create darkness. Therefore evil is not

created, and does not belong to reality.

It is an appearance without foundation

in fact; therefore an illusion; therefore

no thing, nothing.

When did truth become a lie?

The answer is, Truth did not become a

lie. When did evil, illusion, nothing,

begin? The answer is, Evil, no thing,

nothing, did not begin.

Philosophizing about the origin

of nothing has consumed such an

amount of time and effort that, had they

been spent in contemplation of the

Truth which heals, much more of health

and good would have been

demonstrated.

All sins and evils are mistakes.

God never makes mistakes. Hence

mortal mind makes its own mistakes,

and God is not the author of sin or evil.

43

THE RIGHTEOUSNESS WHICH IS BY FAITH

"Righteousness" was formerly

spelled "right-wise-ness". It means,

fundamentally, a right sense, including

right understanding and right feeling. It

is first of all a condition of

consciousness, and only secondarily a

matter of outward conduct.

"Faith," in the Scriptural sense,

is not synonymous in meaning with the

word "trust." Its meaning is better

conveyed in the terms "God-

consciousness" or "spiritual

discernment." In Science and Health (p.

209) Mrs. Eddy says, "Spiritual sense is

a conscious, constant capacity to

understand God." The phrase, "The

righteousness which is by faith," might

well be paraphrased by the words. The

right sense which is in fact God-

consciousness.

It is impossible to correctly

sense anything except as we do so

through its qualities, manifestations, or

attributes. For instance, we might hear

about gold as a mere name, but we can

only sense it through yellowness,

hardness, opacity, etc. Likewise, we can

hear about God as a name; but if we

sense God, we shall only do so as we

sense love, joy, peace, strength,

harmony, liberty and the other constant,

changeless manifestations of God. In

the case of gold, we do not immediately

and necessarily sense some of its

qualities, such as malleability and

ductility, though, as just stated, we

cannot fail to sense the qualities

yellowness, hardness and opacity, if we

sense gold at all. So, in apprehending

God, we do not necessarily, at first,

sense Him as strength, harmony

(health), liberty, life; but we cannot

apprehend Him at all unless we sense

Him as love, joy, and peace. And God is

thus felt, if at all, by a direct mental

contact. He is as definitely felt mentally

as is a piece of velvet or the petal of a

rose physically. We do not get a

realization of the God-love, the God-

joy, the God-peace, the God-strength,

the God-liberty, etc., through things or

people, but only inwardly; it is the love,

the joy, the peace, the honesty, the

truthfulness, the strength, the harmony,

the liberty the life, which are inwardly

sensed as unfailing, changeless

attributes of God, that constitute "the

righteousness which is by faith." The

qualities so named which rest on a

mortal or material basis are counterfeit

and unreliable, and it is worth while to

illustrate and examine why this is so.

Suppose one human being loves

another, and then that other dies or

removes to a distance. Immediately, the

joy of human love largely changes to, or

is replaced by, grief. If the one loved

does not reciprocate, but bestows his

love on a third party, then human love

may become the occasion of jealousy. If

the one loved becomes seriously ill,

human love occasions fear. If the one

loved pursues certain lines of action,

then human love changes to or is

replaced by hatred. But our sense of

divine love, if we have it, "never

faileth." This is because our possession

of this love rests between us and God

alone, and He never changes, and we do

not need to change in our sense of Him,

whatever goes on in the world of matter

and people. In a family which had

gotten into financial difficulties for the

first time, the lady said lamenting, that

it seemed so queer for them to be in

such a situation; that in the twenty years

of their married life there had never

before been a time that they could not

lie down at night with the thought that

they owed no man a dollar, and that she

supposed she ought to be thankful for

their twenty years of peace instead of

mourning over present troubles, since

most people had far more. As a matter

of fact, her twenty years of peace on a

material basis amounted to nothing for

44

true and lasting gain. It was only

counterfeit peace. Had it been genuine,

— the peace which pertains to God-

consciousness, — it would have stood

the test in this time of perplexity.

Indeed, had the family had the

righteousness which is by faith,

probably they would have had the

wisdom to have avoided this business

disaster altogether.

As a younger man, the author,

though engaged in religious work, could

not understand why the honesty of an

irreligious man, who told the truth, kept

his promises, and paid his debts, was

not just as good as any other honesty,

and, indeed, why it did not exemplify

the only kind of honesty there is. It is

now easy to see that the honesty of the

world is of "the best policy" type, that it

is evolved from experience, or is

imitated from the honesty which is in

the world from a truly religious source.

This worldly honesty, though doubtless

better than dishonesty, is only

counterfeit, and will not endure without

breaking the test of hard experience, as

does the honesty which is by God-

consciousness.

Christian Science enables one to

perceive that there are many professors

of Christian faith who, nevertheless,

have really little if any of the

righteousness which is by faith.

They suppose themselves to

have it, but are deceived because they

do not really understand what faith is,

thinking it to be belief in some creed or

"scheme of salvation," or "belief in

Christ" in a sense different than the

understanding of Christ and the

application of his law. Such

righteousness does not differ materially

from the righteousness of the world,

which is on a "natural" basis, — and of

which St. Paul wrote, "The natural man

receiveth not the things of the spirit of

God."

It should not be difficult to

discern that the strength, harmony, and

liberty of body and mind which are the

fruitage of God-consciousness, are from

a different source, and rest on a

different basis than the so-called

strength, health, and liberty which seem

to be conditions of the body itself, when

in its normal natural state. These latter

are but imitations of the genuine, and do

not endure the test of strain and stress.

The purity which is gained

through the apprehension of Love is

immeasurably stronger to endure

temptation than is "natural" purity;

indeed, one having a strong realization

of faith-purity is scarcely susceptible of

being strongly tempted. The prince of

this world cometh and findeth nothing

in him, in the way of impurity; and so it

is in all lines, for him who has

thoroughly acquired "the righteousness

which is by faith." This righteousness,

instead of failing in time of difficulty,

comes into more vigorous action, and

shines with greater brilliance.

"I counsel thee," says the

Revelator, "to buy of me gold tried in

the fire, that thou mayest be rich; and

white raiment that thou mayest be

clothed, and that the shame of thy

nakedness do not appear." He who has

"the righteousness which is by faith,"

has this "gold tried in the fire," and does

not object to its being fire tested. As a

mathematician grows skillful by the

problems which he works upon and

solves, and not by those which he

avoids, so the God-conscious man

knows that he becomes spiritually and

joyfully rich, not by the human

difficulties which he avoids, but by

those which he faces, works upon, —

long and hard, if need be, — and solves

by the knowledge and power of God;

and the harder the problem, the greater

the joy in working on it, and the greater

the gain in solving it. The righteousness

which is by faith enables a man to

regard difficulties, not as an annoyance

and a burden, but as a great opportunity.

They furnish the fire in which he may

45

refine his gold and so be- come rich

indeed. Dealing with them, he "rejoiceth

as a strong man to run a race."

While working on hard

situations, the faith- righteous man

never thinks of tolerating doubt, fear,

foreboding, anger, envy or grief. His

feelings are staved on God and he

knows that he is far better off than those

who are reposing in worldly ease and

worldly harmony; for "the friendship of

the world is enmity with God," and

enmity with spiritual joy. "The kingdom

of God consists not in meat and drink

(and other human riches), but in

righteousness (God-consciousness),

peace and joy in the Holy Spirit." Says

the poet:

"One ship sails east, another

west,

By the self-same winds that

blow;

'Tis the set of the sails, and not

the gales,

That shows us our way to go.

Like the winds of the sea on the

waves of fate,

As we voyage on through life,

'Tis the set of the soul that

decides the goal,

And not the winds or the strife"

Most people have too much

human pride and too little of what might

be termed spiritual pride, that attitude

which Jesus defined when he said: "If I

honor myself, my honor is nothing. It is

my Father that honoreth me." He

exemplified it, when as a carpenter's son

from the despised village of Nazareth,

without money and without a home, he

stood before the scribes and Pharisees,

the rulers of his people, rich, high born,

moral in human and ecclesiastical

righteousness, and called them

hypocrites and liars to their faces, and

told them, "Ye are of your father, the

devil, and the lusts of your father, ye

will do." Jesus again exemplified the

true self-exaltation when he washed his

disciples' feet, and said, "He that is

greatest among you, let him be your

servant." In a given company, he that

has the most correct and practical

knowledge of God outranks all others,

regardless of their wealth, "culture,"

social station, lineage, political or

ecclesiastical rank. He may rebuke his

worldly superiors if occasion requires,

but will not shrink from serving the

humblest, who may be in need of

service. He who has spiritual self-

respect (which is, indeed, God-respect)

will unhesitatingly appeal to the highest

court of authority, even to God, when

called to the bar of public judgment, —

and he cannot do less if he would honor

the Father whom he represents. A writer

in Zion's Herald, as quoted in the

Christian Science Journal, truly says:

"The one thing greater than human

speech is silence. The silence of Christ

in the presence of falsehood and

detraction was Godlike. In the presence

of criticism and exposure, vice can ill

afford to close its lips; its hope lies in

the witchery and deception of speech.

Virtue, on the other hand, can afford to

be still, for the reason that there is no

wrong to be concealed." Spiritual pride

(which is identical with spiritual

humility) may explain its actions for the

sake of friendship or for tie sake of

helping the world at large, or for the

sake of maintaining unity of action

among those working for a common

end.

Human pride glories in a

distinguished ancestry, in wealth,

culture, noted worldly achievements,

political or ecclesiastical preferment,

social eminence, and conventional

righteousness, — some of which are

well enough, and even desirable in their

place; nevertheless the humanly proud

might be thrown into a panic at the

prospect of financial bankruptcy, while

totally indifferent to the fact that they

had never been spiritually solvent, had

never been prepared to pay to God, on

46

demand, in season or out of season, the

unbroken purity peace and joy in Him

which are His constant due, and which

every man is spiritually in honor bound

to continually exemplify before his

fellow men. The servants of human

pride would be ashamed not to appear

in what they consider suitable dress;

yet, on even slight occasion, they have

been known to expose their mental

nakedness, which is made evident in

their fretfulness, fear, anger, jealousy,

doubt, grief, etc. Human pride is not

ashamed of its lack of "white raiment,"

the only true clothing. He who would

attain faith-righteousness, must, first of

all, perceive the difference between it

and "natural" righteousness. After that,

the deepening and broadening of the

direct, inner sense of mental contact

with God is a matter of growth through

experience, and especially, perhaps,

through trials and difficulties. This God-

consciousness, coming in little by little,

transforms the mentality, gradually

crowds out all sin and sickness, and

brings the aspiring Christian to a

progressive experience in which, more

and more, whatever the vicissitudes of

life, he "rejoices with joy unspeakable

and full of glory."

"If hazards of false teachings

and mistaken ideals multiply, the need

of the church is not to rear higher its

external defenses but most solemnly to

renew its reliance on the invincible and

infallible spiritual leadership of the

Master who dwells within it. When the

presence of Jesus Christ in the church

seems less potent for its protection than

measures of ecclesiastical authority, the

mood cries to heaven for a livelier

realization of Jesus Christ." — Anon,

47

DEALING WITH MALPRACTICE (A letter to a patient)

Dear Friend:

Your letter of January 15th

suggests a subject of large proportions.

It suggests the application or use of

truth, as made known through Christian

Science, in practically dealing with and

destroying error. It is quite a task to get

a clear and comprehensive knowledge

of truth, yet it is a far more difficult task

to learn how to uncover error in all its

phases, and how to apply truth wisely,

so as to destroy error. Truth is fixed and

invariable, being all logically deducible

from its Principle, God. Therefore it is

possible to gain an exact knowledge of

truth, and it is comparatively easy for a

thoroughly logical mind to do so. But

error, the devil, is a liar. It has no

principle, and is never logically

harmonious with itself, except when it

suits its own purposes to be so. When

we have learned a manifestation of

Truth we have learned it, that is all there

is to it; but when we think we have a

manifestation of error located and

cornered, likely as not, unless wisely

handled, the devil will bring forth an-

other lie in the place of the one we have

destroyed, not exactly the same lie, but

one just as troublesome, and we may

find ourselves, if we are not wise,

engaged in the apparently endless

process of "chasing the devil around a

stump." Because of its false, unstable,

changeable character, error is vastly

more complex, and in a way, harder to

get at than truth. If we could learn how

to uncover and destroy error as quickly

as we can grasp a theoretical knowledge

of Science, the whole false sense of the

universe would have been destroyed

long ago.

The knowledge of theoretical

Christian Science means much, and

many attain unto this in large measure;

but the knowledge how wisely to

uncover and destroy error is also sure to

distinguish a successful Christian

Scientist from one who is not. Scientists

may have a good theoretical

understanding of truth, but when they

attempt to handle and destroy error,

they are likely to simply stir up and

multiply its manifestations, if they are

not "wise as serpents, and harmless as

doves."

Malpractice is wrong thinking,

thinking contrary to the Science of

Truth. For in- stance, if one should

think, "The paper says, 'A storm will

come tomorrow;' and I am liable to have

rheumatism," this is malpractice,

because it is wrong thinking. It

attributes power to supposed conditions

of weather which are not real, and

assumes that something else than God,

good, has power over man. Suppose,

however, one should think as follows:

"The paper says that a storm will come

on tomorrow, and mortal mind will be

trying to convince me that I must have

rheumatism as a result; but I know that

mortal mind is a liar. It has no power,

since God is the only power. Neither it,

nor any so-called material conditions

have control over me, while I abide 'in

the secret place of the Most High.' God

is not the author of rheumatism, and His

child can- not be afflicted with it." This

is not mental malpractice; it is

foreseeing what error will try to assert,

and is attempting to destroy the error

before it can make its assertion. If the

attempt is successful, the error is met.

If you see a person who is thinly

clad, sitting beside an open window,

and think, "I am afraid he will take

cold" that is malpractice. But if you

think, "Man dwelling in the atmosphere

of Truth and Love, which is the only

real atmosphere, cannot take cold, since

mortal mind and its conditions have no

power over him," this is not

48

malpractice, it is a declaration of truth

which is protective and remedial.

If a superintendent of a Sunday

school, who understands both Christian

Science and the methods of error, were

to transfer a child of Mrs. S. from one

class of the Sunday school to another,

he might think, from his general

knowledge of the ways of evil, that it

would be likely to suggest to Mrs. S.

that this change was made from some

sinister motive, — not that he would

think of Mrs. S. as more suspicious than

most mortals, but he would remember

that we are all very human, and still

open to suggestions of the common

enemy, when off our guard. He would

not know positively that evil would

make such suggestion to Mrs. S., since

it is not sure to observe any uniform

procedure; but he would know that it

always seems to be on the watch for an

opportunity to make trouble; and to

head off any possible working of this

one evil, he would do well to declare for

the reign of truth and love. He might

make some such declaration as follows:

"This change is intended for the good of

this child, and for the good of all

concerned. Error has no power to

mislead us or anyone else about this

matter or to argue to anyone any

misunderstanding of our motives, or to

produce any evil in any way. Only the

one Mind can guide and govern." Such

a mental declaration may prevent error

from sowing seeds of discord, which it

otherwise would. The mother might not

know the reasons for which the change

was made, but the love and right

thought expressed mentally in making

the argument would protect her thought,

so that she would feel that everything

was done for the best, whether she

understood or not.

As the result of our mortal habits

of thought, we are constantly disposed

to fore- bode evil for ourselves and for

our neighbors in one way or another.

This is all malpractice, and we need to

be ever on the guard against it.

Sometimes we think along these lines,

and know that our thought processes are

unscientific; yet we are tempted to

entertain them, or we are too indolent to

make the necessary effort to cast them

out. This is conscious mental

malpractice. There are people who

deliberately send out mental suggestions

of disease or disaster to others whom

they may hate, or who let jealousy

against a given person in- flame their

consciousness, doing so in the belief

that this may bring disease or other

disasters on that person. This is

malicious mental malpractice, or

malicious animal magnetism. Attention

can not be too strongly called to the fact

that malicious malpractice is wholly

powerless to harm one living in the

active consciousness of protection in

divine Mind.

If there are mistakes in the

computations of a set of bank books,

these mistakes must be sought out and

corrected, and the seeking must

continue until they are all corrected. It

will not be sufficient to make a general

assertion that the true result of every

possible combination of numbers is

already established in mathematical

law, and trust this general declaration to

correct the mistakes. In the book-

keeping of ordinary daily life, there are

many false entries. We know very well

that mortal mind, error, is constantly

arguing, through the consciousness of

mortals on every side of us, skepticism,

fear, doubt, foreboding, anger, hatred,

malice, envy, jealousy, revenge,

agnosticism, materiality, sensuality,

intemperance, dishonesty, falsehood,

hypnotism, thought transference,

spiritualism, etc. — all these errors

spring up in the minds of mortals,

because the seed is sown there by error,

the one evil. All these are

manifestations of error, and are un- real,

but their unreality is to be proven. They

are mistakes in mortal mind, which

49

must be corrected, and for this purpose

it is often not sufficient to make a

general declaration that God is good,

and that He made all that was made, and

that there can be no evil. When this

declaration can be made clearly enough

to destroy the manifestations of error:

well and good. But if not, then those

manifestations must be dealt with and

met specifically. Hence, a well

instructed Christian Scientist may make

such daily declarations of the truth of

being as will cover the specific

possibilities of error's claim and

activity; and when all mankind begin to

meet these errors daily with realizations

and declarations of truth, they will soon

cease to be manifested.

There are segregations of error

which may be named "materia medica,"

false theology, etc. Error is liable to try

to attack a Scientist, or a person

working into Science, through one or

more of these segregations of error as a

channel. Hence, a Scientist may wisely

deal with all these claims in his daily

declarations of truth.

Note. — This article is not

presented as a complete discussion of

the subject of "Dealing with

Malpractice." It is merely what it

purports to be; some thoughts on the

subject presented in a letter to a patient.

"To forbid a man in advance to

speak, on the assumption that he may

say something illegal, endangers the

republic." — Harris Weinstock.

"Growth is restricted by forcing

humanity out of the proper channels for

development or by holding it in fetters."

— Mary Baker Eddy, in Miscellaneous

Writings, page 359.

50

GOD-CONSCIOUSNESS VERSUS SUB-

CONSCIOUSNESS

The analysis of the errors with

which all human beings have to deal is

often of great practical importance,

since it enables us the more intelligently

to apply our knowledge of God in their

correction. As Mrs. Eddy says in

Science and Health (p. 252),

"knowledge of error and its operations

must precede that understanding of truth

which destroys error." (Note: Mrs.

Eddy's sense of sub-conscious mortal

mind is set forth in "Science and

Health," near the top of page 559, in her

reference to "elementary, latent error,

the source of all error's visible forms.")

The organs of the human body

are not self- controlled. If they were, the

organs of a corpse would be self-acting.

It is also evident, that the organs of the

body are not under the control of the

conscious mind; for the beating of the

heart, the digestion of food, and other

so-called involuntary bodily processes

go on without any seeming dependence

upon our conscious mentality.

Furthermore, it is clear to students of

Christian Science that God does not

create nor directly or consciously attend

to the activities of the material body.

Nevertheless the activities of the bodily

organs evidence intelligence and plan of

an intricate and complex order. Since

this intelligence is evidently not an

expression of the divine consciousness

(though Christian Scientists know it to

be a counterfeit of God-intelligence),

and since it is not conscious human

intelligence, the intelligence which

controls the bodily organs and functions

is spoken of by students of the human

mind as "sub-consciousness," —

indicating that its activities are beneath

the activity or observation of the

conscious mind.

The so-called sub-conscious

mind is a part of the make-up of every

human being, though most human

beings give little or no thought to its

existence or to the nature and laws of its

activity on the human plane. Further-

more, it has been discovered that the

subconscious mind gradually takes its

character from the activity of the

conscious mind. The conscious mind is,

as it were, a feeder of the sub-

consciousness, which accumulates and

stores up that which it is fed; thus it

becomes the seat of what is called

"habit," along many different lines.

There is an eastern proverb, said to be

thousands of years old, which reads, "If

a man commits a sin, let him not do it

again; let him not delight in it; the

accumulation of evil is painful."

It is fair to say, that the sub-

consciousness of a young child is

largely formed and determined by the

belief of inheritance from human

ancestors, and by pre-natal influences of

the mother's thought and feeling. As the

child grows older, its own conscious

mental activity and its mental

environment, enter more and more

largely into the shaping of its sub-

consciousness. Accordingly, it is

apparent that the sub-consciousness of

an adult is partly the result of the belief

of inheritance, partly the result of

mental environment, and largely the

result of daily conscious activity.

If the conscious mind to a large

extent entertains fear, anxiety doubt,

grief, discouragement, lust, greed,

hatred, malice, envy, jealousy, revenge,

pride, and the like, the sub-

consciousness becomes habitually

discordant, and, if so, sooner or later

this discord is manifest in the disease of

one or more of the bodily organs or

functions which it controls.

Let us examine this mental

process a little more carefully.

51

Frequently the conscious mind becomes

discordant over business or social

experiences, or over some condition of

ill-health. This gradually makes the sub-

consciousness discordant, which, in

turn, manifests itself in disease of the

body, — and in increased measure, if

disease was the original occasion of

discord. As a result of this added sense

of disease, the conscious mind takes on

an increased sense of fear, anxiety

discouragement, grief, etc. This is

communicated to the sub-

consciousness, thus making it still more

discordant and such a mental descent

once entered upon, nothing but extreme

suffering and death can result, unless a

way is found to interrupt its course.

We learn in Christian Science,

that the one sure and legitimate way of

stopping this destructive mental

program is to lay hold on God, to

govern the feelings according to

Love, and thus escape from the

influence and control of outward or

corporeal suggestions of discord. We

may not be able to do this all at once,

but, with a clear understanding of

spiritual truth and firm determination,

we can do a great deal in the right

direction from the very start, and can

soon gain a complete victory. Said Paul:

"I can do all things through Christ, who

strengthens me"

It may be well to consider

somewhat in detail how we may make a

beginning of right activity. First of all,

we must be thoroughly convinced that

God is the only Cause and

Creator, hence the only power;

then that any- thing which seems to

occur as the result of any other so-called

power cannot be legitimate or real ; and

that the human mind can have no true or

real thoughts or feelings which it does

not receive from God. Said Christ Jesus:

"The son can do (think or feel) nothing

of himself; but whatsoever he seeth the

Father do (think or feel), that doeth the

son likewise." If we clearly perceive

and accept this fact, we will determine

not to allow ourselves to feel contrary to

the nature of God, since, in doing so, we

would manifestly be living (feeling) a

lie.

To illustrate, suppose a person

were to find himself seriously ill. At

once the disposition to fear and to worry

asserts itself, but he who has awakened

to the truth of being reminds himself

that he has accepted God as the only

power. In God there is no reason for

fear, hence the apparent physical

reasons for it are really no reasons at all,

and are not to be allowed to govern one,

even though he does feel sick. He may

for the present be unable to avoid a

sense of weakness and pain, though he

valiantly contends against them; but, in

any case, he will not give place to fear.

Such conscious activity, based on divine

Love, will tend strongly to prevent the

development of disease, and if the

realization of spiritual Truth, its law and

power, is sufficiently clear, the disease

will be destroyed.

In any case, the giving of false

suggestions to the sub-consciousness is

avoided, and the consequent

aggravation of the disease is obviated.

Such mental procedure on the part of

the Christian Scientist, if it is not

sufficient, together with other lines of

scientific thought and feeling that he

may be holding, to cure him, will at

least aid in his recovery, and will clear

the way for effective reception of the

work being done for him by a brother

Scientist.

Suppose a near relative or friend

has passed away. There is a strong

"natural" impulsion

to grief, but the person who has

adopted this new line of activity will at

once remember that in God there is no

reason for grief, and having accepted

this fact he will not be deceived by

appearances, or by what human sense

claims to be a reason. Therefore he will

not entertain grief. Suppose to human

52

sense: a near one should prove

"unfaithful." Then comes the "natural"

impulsion to jealousy, anger, grief,

hatred, revenge and the like. Again we

are reminded that in God there is no

reason for any of these feelings, and

hence we will not entertain them. We

may thus rule out of consciousness all

forms of emotional discord, which

would ordinarily be incident to business

perplexities or reverses, to social

relations, to family affairs, or even to

the conditions of bodily health.

The person, who, by thus

accepting God as the only ground of

reality, succeeds in keeping emotional

discord out of consciousness, will cease

to contribute the seeds of discord to his

sub-conscious mind, and the discordant

phases of the sub-conscious mind, being

no longer fed, soon starve to death. As

discordant sub-consciousness is thus

weakened more and more, to the

vanishing point, it gradually, and often

very rapidly, loses its seeming power to

bring forth ills in the body; and, for that

reason in part, there is a more or less

rapid recovery of health, — which,

however, is mainly due to a more

positive reason, to be next discussed.

Many students of Christian

Science find themselves, at the start,

obliged to accept God as the working

Principle, purely on the basis of

revelation in the Bible and on the basis

of logic, since they have little feeling of

or for God. But, if they really trust the

validity of their logic, and accept God

as the only reason, and on that basis rule

out discordant emotions in the manner

we have described, they soon find

themselves loving the Principle, the

God, whom they prove in daily

experience to be their helper in casting

out the ill feelings which formerly

vexed them; and, with increasing

experience, this sense of love grows

apace. Moreover, following this course,

they soon find themselves maintaining

an uninterrupted peace of mind, in a

manner before unknown. As the

conviction dawns upon them that,

through reliance on God as the only

explanation of reality, they can really

hold their peace against various human

temptations to discord; they find

themselves experiencing a sense of

power, of self government and of joy

which they had not known before. The

peace, joy, and love, which come into

their experience when God is thus

proven to be their Helper, constitute

"gold tried in the fire," and "the riches

of the kingdom of heaven."

Through continuous reliance

upon God, the thought and feeling of

God come more and more into the

forefront of consciousness, until there is

scarcely a moment of the day when one

does not have a sense of the divine

presence. In proportion as the sub-

consciousness, being starved and

depleted, loses its control over the body,

in the same proportion the God-

consciousness is developed, and the

human sense of body comes under the

control of this right sense,

consciousness of Truth and Love, and

so begins to reflect harmony instead of

discord, and this process goes on until

the healing is complete. A human being

who has been thus freed from sub-

conscious discord, and whose God-

consciousness has been highly

developed, is largely immune from

harm by mental malpractice from

others, even without much special work

for protection; but those who have not

attained a firm and unbroken hold upon

God need more frequently to do special

work against various forms of

malpractice.

In this connection, it is easy to

answer the question sometimes raised,

as to wherein Christian Science

treatment differs from mental science

and suggestive therapeutics, and as to

why work in Science does not amount

to the same thing as what is known as

"giving suggestion to sub-

53

consciousness." Methods of treatment

by "suggestion" assume that healing can

be accomplished by addressing the sub-

consciousness with arguments of health

and strength, made as mere statements,

and not based on divine Truth. The

assumption is that, in this manner, a

sense of harmony can be injected into

the sub-consciousness, so that it will be

reflected in the body. Such an

assumption is based on an expectation

of filling the sub-consciousness with

something that it did not previously

possess. On the other hand, the

Christian Science method of work tends

to starve and destroy the sub-

consciousness, on its discordant side, in

the manner already described, and tends

to build up in the person a God-

consciousness, which is not sub-

consciousness, but is, from the ordinary

human standpoint, super-consciousness.

This spiritual consciousness is

humanity's birthright, which, however,

can be attained only by earnest

endeavor to have "that Mind which was

in Christ Jesus."

How interesting and

illuminating, in this connection, is St.

Paul's statement, "If the spirit of God

(God-consciousness) dwell in you, he

(that same consciousness) that raised up

Christ from the dead shall also quicken

(make strong and well) your mortal

body, by His Spirit that dwelleth in

you."

God, who is immortal Mind,

never created any mortal mind, either

conscious or sub- conscious. Hence, in

reality there is no sub-conscious mind.

Therefore it cannot be a channel for the

transmission of beliefs of heredity, and

it cannot be a storehouse for erroneous

beliefs or a seat of evil habits. It cannot

be a medium for the transmission of

mortal thought, feeling or will-power. It

cannot misgovern the body. God alone

governs.

Note: At the time Mrs. Eddy

wrote "Science and Health," the word

"sub-consciousness" was not in

common use; so she used the phrase

"unconscious mortal mind" to express

the same idea. For example, see S. & H.

409; 9-15.

54

GOD THE REWARDER

In the 11th chapter of Hebrews,

we read: "He that cometh to God must

believe that He is, and that He is a

rewarder of them that diligently seek

Him." This verse, rightly understood

and applied, furnishes us with directions

for overcoming our physical ills, as well

as all other forms of evil and limitation.

To make this evident, let us spend a

moment in analyzing certain of the

claims of error.

Contrary to the usually accepted

belief, the body, as such, is incapable of

experiencing either pain or pleasure. If

it were, a corpse would experience pain

or pleasure. It is only when

consciousness is connected with the

body that pain or pleasure can be

experienced. This shows that, in reality,

it is consciousness that aches, or burns,

or smarts, or feels weak. The word

"disease" means dis-ease; and it is

consciousness that is dis-easy, if there is

any disease, and not the body. When

there is disease, the body is often

correspondingly abnormal, through

swellings, false growths, sores, or

wastings; and the discomfort seems to

be located in or at these abnormal

portions of the body. Consequently, it

has usually been inferred that the

abnormal condition of the body causes

the discomfort of the mind; but exactly

the reverse is true, as can be proven in

two ways.

If consciousness becomes

disassociated from the body through

death, the swellings, false growths,

sores, or wastings, may remain on the

body, but they no longer occasion

discomfort in any way, either to the

body or to the mind, showing that flesh,

as such, is incapable of sensation.

Neither will abnormal conditions

(except the general condition of decay)

develop in the body, when

consciousness is not associated with it.

This shows that discord is not first in

the body, and afterwards in

consciousness, but is first in

consciousness, and then is manifest on

the body as a result.

To be sure, it must be admitted

that a swelling, or sore, often develops

to quite an extent on the body before the

active mind discovers its appearance

there or notices pain from it, and this

fact has caused the vast majority of

mankind to believe that disease

originates in the body, and afterwards

begins to disturb the mind; but the fact

is, that the human mind (which is the

mind that we must deal with when we

are analyzing the claim of error) has a

sub-conscious phase, through which the

body is mostly governed, unless God's

government is being scientifically

demonstrated. Disease usually begins in

this sub-conscious phase of the human

mind, and then begins to be manifest on

or in the body, and then, last of all,

begins to disturb the conscious mind. In

the analysis of error, falsehood, or

unreality, it is the so-called sub-

conscious mind, of whose operations

little has been known until lately, that is

the chief channel and seat of disease

and sin, so far as the mortal individual

is concerned.

In the absence of control by

divine Mind, the conscious and sub-

conscious mortal mind act and react

upon each other, and educate each other

in sin and disease, using the body as a

go-between, — a mere football, as it

were, to be kicked back and forth

between conscious and sub-conscious

arguments of evil: but the sub-conscious

mind is the original sinner, and, unless

prevented from doing so by the Christ-

mind, it recurrently, and often

continually, throws up into the

conscious mind all manner of sinful and

painful feelings, and the conscious mind

thinks that the body is the source or

cause of these sinful or painful feelings,

55

instead of discerning the deeper source

of evil in the mortal sub-consciousness.

It is this mortal sub-consciousness that

must be cleansed by the application of

divine Mind, in order to rid both the

conscious mind and the body of evil and

discord. The method of doing this will

be spoken of a bit later.

The second proof that

abnormalities in the body are not the

cause of discomfort in consciousness is

the fact that the pain or other discomfort

in the mind is often completely removed

hours, and sometimes weeks, before the

swellings or false growths, which at one

time seemed painful, have disappeared

from the body. If these abnormalities of

the body were the cause of mental

distress, mental distress could not

disappear until the physical

abnormalities had been overcome.

Almost invariably the removal of

discomfort from the mind through

Christian Science treatment is followed,

sooner or later, by normal conditions of

the body.

It has now been clearly shown,

that all disease originates mentally, and

is located in consciousness, and that

abnormalities of the body" are not,

strictly speaking, disease, because they

are not disease, but are mere

manifestations or effects of disease, —

never its cause. Hence, it is very evident

that the proper effort to cure disease

must center its activity on removing evil

from the consciousness; and if it be re-

moved from the consciousness, it will

disappear from the body automatically.

That which is to be treated is the mind

and not the body.

It must be entirely evident, on

statement, that a diseased or dis-easy

mind is an evil mind; and that the way

to overcome an evil mind is to attack it

with that which is opposed to it,

namely, good Mind. Now there is only

one good Mind. Christ Jesus declared:

"There is none good, save one; that is

God." If we intelligently and

persistently turn to this good Mind,

God, that Mind will remove evil from

our consciousness as naturally as the

sun removes darkness from our eyes,

when we turn from darkness toward the

sun.

Whoever beholds the light of the

sun, beholds coincidently rays of violet,

indigo, blue, green, yellow, orange, red,

and every intermediary shade and tint of

color, all beautifully blended together in

what we call light. Likewise, whoever

diligently turns to God, and beholds

Him, cannot fail to increasingly behold,

and to gradually receive into his own

consciousness, love, joy, peace,

strength, harmony, health, substance,

plenty, entertainment, intelligence, and

life, all beautifully blended together in

that "true light, which lighteth every

man that cometh into the world;" for

God is omnipresent, not beyond the

reach of any man's mental gaze; yea, he

is in every man's very heart, when that

man will diligently open his heart to

God.

So if we turn to God, knowing

that He is here, and if we diligently seek

Him, He will reward us by shining in

our hearts and minds with every

conceivable form of good; and in

proportion as this comes to pass, in that

proportion the darkness of sin and

disease are driven from every phase of

the human consciousness, and we are

healed, or made whole, in

consciousness, — just where we need to

be healed, and then the body soon

automatically reflects the divine

harmony, which, through the power of

God, has been established in the mind.

Accordingly, in the treatment of

disease, the advice of St. Paul is most

excellent: "Be willing (be choosing) to

be absent from the body (in thought),

and present with the Lord." For God is

the healer; and He will reward us with

healing, if we come to Him with

diligence.

56

Suppose darkness should say to

itself "I am going to rise up and attack

light." What would become of the

darkness when it got within reaching

distance of the light? How much would

it accomplish aside from its own

destruction? Moral: If there be no error

(darkness) in a man's own

consciousness, the errors of his

ancestors and all adverse thought-

influences will be as powerless to harm

him as darkness is powerless to harm

light. And this is true as a matter of

complete attainment. The elimination of

any portion or kind of error from a

man's own consciousness, through

turning to God, renders him more

immune from the attacks of any form of

error originating from without.

57

THE MARRIAGE OF TRUTH AND LOVE

In the divine Mind, truth and

love are constantly and indissolubly

wedded. All human undertakings which

are to count for anything must

exemplify this union, for it is

"according to the pattern shewed to thee

in the mount." "Be ye perfect, even as

your Father which is in heaven is

perfect."

It is one of the "wiles of the

devil" to try to divorce truth and love in

the consciousness of men, and to make

them believe that truth can be advanced

through war and strife, carried on with

motives of anger, hatred, revenge, self-

interest, or self- justification. Ever and

anon, problems of importance must be

discussed and settled in our families, in

our churches, in our business relations,

and in the larger negotiations of politics,

law, government, religion, and

diplomacy. In these discussions, let us

defeat the "one evil" through

understanding and bearing in mind that,

by no amount of argument, however

valid, and by no amount of force of any

kind, can we successfully promulgate

truth and permanently bring to pass the

correct issue, unless, during our efforts,

we purposely and habitually exercise

the spirit of good-will. In dealing with

others, reasoning and good- will are as

the wings of a bird. If a bird tries to fly

with only one wing, he whirls round and

round, to his own confusion, getting

nowhere; but using both wings, he

makes much progress. Only as the male

principle, truth, and the female

principle, love, are wedded in our

consciousness, can we obey the spiritual

command: "Be fruitful (of righteous

thoughts and deeds), and multiply

(them), and replenish the earth (with

them), and subdue it." Truth will go no

farther and no faster than love goes as a

companion. "What therefore God hath

joined together, let not man put

asunder."

"Toil on, then, thou art in the

right,

However narrow souls may call

thee wrong.

Be as thou wouldst be in thine

own clear sight.

And so thou shalt be in the

worlds ere long." — Lowell.

58

"LET YOUR CONVERSATION BE IN

HEAVEN."

Experience and conversation

have led the writer to believe that there

are many students of Christian Science,

who have a correct theoretical

understanding of its fundamental

doctrines, but who, nevertheless, when

they attempt to apply Science in the

treatment of themselves or others, fall

into the error of holding the material

body, or some of its parts or organs, in

thought, while making their declarations

of divine harmony, health, strength and

perfection. In doing so, they unwittingly

fall into the fundamental error of

practically declaring that there is a

material man, when Principle demands

that declarations of harmony and

perfection be made only with regard to

the real man, who is spiritual and

perfect, like unto his Father. To make

declarations of harmony and perfection

about the projections of false material

sense is foolish; it is but a phase of

mesmerism.

Other students of Christian

Science sometimes fall into a yet more

subtle error, especially while treating

themselves. They correctly make their

declarations of the harmony and

perfection of the real, spiritual man; but

while doing so, they are watching the

body "out of the corners of their eyes,"

so to speak, to see whether the treatment

is taking effect, thus implicitly

admitting that there is a material, as

well as a spiritual man. This procedure

does not constitute that undivided

affirmation of Truth, and that absolute

separation from error, from the false

concept of man, which yields genuine

and permanent results. There is in

Science no material body to be healed.

What appears as such is simply one of

the phases of false belief. False sense is

that which is to be healed by being

destroyed. There is nothing else to be

taken account of.

To be sure, the body seems to be

uttering complaints, else no treatment

would be under- taken; but these

complaints are to be recognized as

complaints of false material sense, of

which the body itself is a part. Many

times, these complaints do not at once

disappear under treatment, and so, for a

time, cannot fully be eliminated from

our human consciousness; and many do

not seem to find the scientific way to

deal with them.

To illustrate this, suppose one

were carrying on an important business

conversation with a caller in a room

where there was an assertive and

talkative child. He would doubtless

endeavor to quiet the child, if he could

not put him out of the room ; but, if, for

the time being, he could not induce him

to be still, he would go on with his

conversation, concentrating his attention

upon the subject in hand, which he

could do if he chose, regardless of the

child's babbling. He would, in a way, be

conscious of the noise, but he would not

allow it to interrupt the train of his

thought. If the child became too

assertive, he might pause momentarily

now and then to command it to be still

and thus lessen the uproar in a measure;

but, if he paid no attention to the child's

racket, it would in all probability grow

quiet all the more speedily.

In treatment, it is our endeavor

to hold conversation with our highest

sense of good and truth, to enter into

communion with Truth and Love, to

hold converse with God. In doing this

we obey the injunction: "Let your

conversation be in heaven"; that is, our

conversation is in and with Truth — in

and with harmonious consciousness,

which is heaven. In this conversation,

59

the sense of matter and discord can have

no rightful place. To the degree that we

admit the thought of matter, even to

watch its supposed states, to that degree

our conversation ceases to be in heaven;

for we have admitted the thought of a

lie. If the sense of body and discord

become too assertive, we may pause

now and then to quiet this false sense by

denying that there is any material body,

or any discord. Indeed, we may meet

any specific claim of discord by a

specific form of denial adapted thereto;

but we should never be betrayed into

affirming harmony with regard to the

physical body, or into watching for

harmony to be manifest in the physical

body, with the thought or implicit belief

that the body is real. Many times, it is

most efficacious to frame a line of

thought in truth, including affirmations

calculated to specifically offset the false

claims which the body seems to be

uttering, and then to fix our attention

upon the affirmation of these

declarations of truth, and hold to them,

until, without narrowly watching the

process, we become aware that the body

has ceased to utter its complaints. The

old proverb finds good application here:

"The watched pot never boils." To fix

our attention upon declarations of truth

is to heal by spiritual realization. To

deny the existence of the material body,

and of pain, weakness, discord, is to

heal by argument. The two methods

may be resorted to successively; but

affirmation of truth should never be

made concerning the material body,

and, of course, denials are never called

for in connection with things spiritual.

The multiplication table is a

compound idea, of which the ideas

expressed by the words "four times

three equals twelve," "five times six

equals thirty," etc., are simple ideas.

These simple ideas can be used

individually, yet they cannot for an

instant be so separated from the

multiplication table that the

multiplication table does not contain

them. So the multiplication table,

although compound, is nevertheless

indivisible, since no component part can

be for an instant separated from it.

Therefore the multiplication table is

individual, since "individual" and

"indivisible" are synonymous terms as

used in philosophy. So also, as Mrs.

Eddy teaches, man is the compound yet

individual idea of God (S. & H., p.

468:22; 475:14). The functions and

activities of the real man are simpler

ideas which go to make up that

compound idea, which man is; but no

one of these simpler ideas can for an

instant be separated from the compound

idea; hence the compound idea is

individual.

Man reflects God, who is

omnipresent Life, infinite Mind — all-

powerful, all-harmonious and eternally

active. Hence, in his every function and

activity, man may be declared to be an

idea of God, from which life and

strength and harmony are never for an

instant separated. To hold in thought

such declarations as these, and many

others which are given in the Bible, in

our text-book, and in other Christian

Science literature, is to have our

"conversation in heaven." It is well to

keep our conversation in heaven, and to

keep it from dropping to the earth of

material sense as much as may be. To

keep our conversation in heaven is to

"pray without ceasing," it is to

"meditate in the law of the Lord," and to

"seek the kingdom of God and His

righteousness." If we do this, all needed

harmony will be "added" to our human

sense, without our "taking thought" for

materiality, until such time as material

sense shall have been entirely

eliminated. "Let your conversation be in

heaven."

If there is nothing within which

can be "hurt," nothing without can hurt

us. Darkness cannot harm light, and

mortal mind cannot harm the divine

60

Mind or its reflection; it cannot even

touch it. Therefore, if we reflect the

divine Mind, we shall not be "hurt" by

the injustice, or coldness, or

misjudgment of others, no matter how

much, from a mortal standpoint, we

should be justified in feeling so. One

finds by experience that he cannot

afford to let himself be stirred up by

what others do or do not do, by what

they say or do not say. One should let

all these things slip off, "like water off a

duck's back." It behooves us to be so

much unselfed, so freed from

everything that is unlike the divine

Mind, that there is nothing within to be

disturbed by the manifestations of error.

61

"PERFECT LOVE CASTETH OUT FEAR."

To many students of the

Scriptures, this text does not seem

perfectly clear ; for they are unable to

see just how love can be a special

antidote for fear. It would seem that

faith is the more direct opposite. Then,

also, the question arises. How is perfect

love to be attained?

A solution to these difficulties

appears, if the order of the words in the

text is inverted, so that it reads, Love of

the perfect casteth out fear. Perfect love

must necessarily be love of the perfect;

for love of the imperfect could not be

perfect love. Accordingly, to attain

perfect love, we must learn, and in

Christian Science we can learn, what

the perfect is, and then we shall learn to

love the perfect.

What is the occasion of fear? It

arises when we anticipate the

prospective or continued loss of

something or some one that we love.

We think that we are, or are going to be,

deprived of health, strength, property

(substance), life, or the presence or life

of some person whom we love. But, in

Christian Science, we learn that the only

real health is divine harmony, which is

the eternal, indestructible, changeless,

omnipresent law of God ; and we learn

that the only real strength is God's

omnipresent and indestructible power;

and that the only real property

(substance) is Spirit, infinite Mind and

its ideas; that life is God or the

expression of God, and is omnipresent

and indestructible; and we learn that the

only real man is God's idea, eternal,

changeless, perfect, and omnipresent.

These real entities are the perfect

entities, and no others are perfect or

real. If, therefore, we have learned to

love these, and have withdrawn our love

from their false, material counterfeits,

our love has become perfect, and is

fixed upon objects or entities which we

know we cannot lose or be separated

from, since they are omnipresent and

eternal. Therefore, when our love has

become perfect through love of the

perfect, we know that we cannot lose

anything that we love, and so we have

no occasion for fear. Therefore, "perfect

love casteth out fear." It is also manifest

that, "He that feareth is not made perfect

in love"; for he has not learned to love

the perfect, and the perfect only.

A child and his mother are

walking in the field. The child stops to

gather some buttercups; the mother

strolls on. Suddenly the child looks up

and sees his mother quite a distance

away. In a paroxysm of fear, he cries:

"Mama! Mama! Wait for me!" If the

mother stops, his fear promptly

subsides, and he does not specially

mind toddling along over the

intervening distance, until he catches up

with her. When we are afraid, it is

mostly because we think that life, or

something or somebody that we love is

getting away from us; but when,

through Science, we become really

convinced that Life and all good things

will wait until we catch up — until we

attain the realization of them, most of

our fear subsides; and we do not so

much mind the period of struggle that

must be gone through before we gain

the permanent possession of the good

we seek.

In this connection is seen the

great wisdom of St. Paul's exhortation,

"Set your affections on things above,

not on things on the earth." In

proportion as we obey this injunction,

we are freed from any occasion for fear,

anxiety, foreboding, or doubt, and we

enter more and more into love, joy,

peace, and the realization of all good.

Discouragement is the more

sinister because it is generally looked

upon as harmless. In fable it is told that

the devil one night held a sale and

offered all his tools to anyone who

62

would pay his price. These were spread

out for sale, some labeled hatred, and

envy, and sickness, and sensuality, and

despair, and crime — a motley array.

Apart from the rest lay a harmless-

looking, wedge-shaped implement

marked "discouragement." It was much

worn and was priced above the rest,

showing that it was held in high esteem

by its owner. When asked the reason the

devil replied, "I can use this more easily

than any of the others, for so few know

it belongs to me. With this I can open

doors that I can not budge with the

others, and once I get inside I can use

whichever of them suits me best." —

William R. Rathvon, in Christian

Science Journal, May, 1911.

63

WORKING OUT OUR PROBLEM (Reprinted from C. S. Sentinel, Nov. 14, 1908)

Many students of Christian

Science, as well as Christian people

generally, make a mistake in attempting

too much at the start, or rather in not

rightly selecting the phase or

manifestation of error over which they

attempt to demonstrate at the beginning.

Error as a whole presents many

problems to be solved, and no young

student of Christianity is competent to

work on them all at the same time, and

find success in his efforts. He must

choose among the problems, working

them one at a time, although it is true

that the solving of any one problem

contributes to the solution of all the rest.

The most frequent mistakes

made by many who are tr3ang to be

Christian Scientists is in attempting to

demonstrate peace without before they

have demonstrated peace within.

They think they must solve the

world's problems, or their church's

problems, or at least the problems of

their family or friends, in order to solve

their own. The scientific order of

demonstration is the exact reverse. A

man must cast the beam out of his own

eye before he can see clearly to cast the

mote out of his brother's eye. We must

be sufficiently acquainted with God,

good, and sufficiently grounded in our

consciousness of Him, sufficiently able

to dwell "in the secret place of the most

High," so that in our own consciousness

we have become largely impervious to

the darts of error, before we are strongly

enough placed in good to be of very

much service to other people. If we

have not a firm inward hold on peace

and harmony, we shall not do much

toward imparting these qualities to other

people or to outward situations.

Beginners in Christian Science

need to follow the example of Jesus.

Before he entered upon his ministry, he

went apart, for forty days, into the

wilderness, to pray. He saw that each

should have his own consciousness

closely and firmly and unalterably

united with

God –good- before undertaking

the problems of the world. During these

forty days there were sick to be healed,

there were evils to be cast out, there

were wrongs to be righted, but for the

time Jesus paid no attention to them; he

was giving his entire attention to getting

so firmly placed and grounded in the

abiding consciousness of God, good,

that he would be able to attack these

evils all the more successfully later on,

and without being himself overthrown

in the process.

We do not need to make a

physical journey into a material desert

in order to follow the example of Jesus

in this particular. It is sufficient to

withdraw our thoughts from other

people's problems for a time, so that we

may give our entire attention to the

solution of our own, — become

sufficiently acquainted with God so that

we shall be permanently at peace

within, even while the storms of error

rage all around us. When we have

demonstrated such inward and abiding

peace that feelings of anger, jealousy,

envy, resentment, self-pity, brooding

over wrongs, and the like, are not stirred

into activity by the conduct of others,

then we have gotten into a position to be

of real service in overcoming the errors

in our family, in the church, and in the

world at large. Of course, such a

demonstration is a matter of degree.

Probably there are very few who

have reached such a height of spiritual

attainment that inharmonious feelings

are not at times aroused into momentary

activity; but we must have become

sufficiently assimilated to God,

sufficiently habituated in the abiding

consciousness of good, sufficiently alert

64

with regard to error, so that we

promptly put out these intruders upon

harmonious consciousness, instead of

admitting and cherishing them, before

we can be very helpful to others.

Even in the experience of those

strongest in the truth, there come times

when, to sense, error specially abounds

and rages. In such a time a Christian's

first duty is to save his own sense from

taking part in the raging of error. With

his utmost efforts this may be all he is

able to do, and he will do well, at times,

if he does this ; but, unless he does this

first of all, he can neither help himself

nor any one else. Such a raging of error

is spoken of by the prophet Ezekiel, and

he tells us: "Though these three men,

Noah, Daniel, and Job, were in it, they

should deliver but their own souls by

their righteousness, saith the Lord God."

If these mighty men of faith under the

given unfavorable conditions would

have been able to have saved but their

own sense from having part in error,

able to have done no more than

maintain spiritual consciousness, then

surely there are times when we, who

have not endured the test of the flood,

nor the trial by suffering and the loss of

all earthly possessions, and who have

not survived the lions' den, — there are

times when we shall do well if we do

nothing more than maintain our own

peace.

In this connection, the story of

Noah and the ark is illuminating. Taken

figuratively, the flood may represent the

raging sea of error; the solid ground the

abiding sense of good, which for a time

seemed to be completely covered and

hidden from sight by the sea; while the

ark represents that spiritual

consciousness which rides safely above

the raging waves. Spiritual

consciousness was a place of safety to

Noah, his sons, and their wives, but

there were none others in the world who

were able to dwell in this ark of spiritual

consciousness, and so no other men

were saved from the flood. The ark had

but one window, and it was open toward

heaven, toward light and truth and good,

— the ark had no windows at the sides

for looking out on the sea of error. From

time to time Noah sent out a thought of

peace, the dove; but it found no resting-

place, none of the solid ground of good

appearing above the flood, and so it

returned to Noah. Thus he knew that the

waters of error were not yet sub- sided,

and he continued to dwell in the ark of

spiritual consciousness until error

should destroy itself, and thus abate, at

least in some measure. When once more

Noah sent out the dove, his thought of

peace, it found a resting- place, and did

not return. Then he knew that error was

sufficiently self-destroyed, and enough

of truth and good had appeared in the

outward situation so that it was safe for

him to begin to make preparations to go

forth from the ark ; that is, to reach out

with aspiring faith for the benefit of

mankind.

Many times there are members

of our family, or of our church, or

people in our neighborhood, who are so

satisfied with their present condition

that the wisest thing we can do is to

protect our own consciousness and

allow the error to find its own self-

destruction, while we calmly abide in

the consciousness that nothing real,

nothing good, can be destroyed or lost.

When error has sufficiently

destroyed itself in the consciousness of

others through suffering, the time will

come when they will be ready for the

help which we can give them. It is well

for us occasionally to utter a word of

peace, a thought of Science; but if their

behavior does not indicate that this

thought of Science finds a place in their

consciousness where it can rest without

stirring up violent manifestations of

error, the thing for us to do is to

continue to dwell quietly in the ark of

our consciousness of Truth. If, in our

efforts to help them, we ourselves are

65

dragged forth from the ark into the sea

of error, much is lost to us and to them.

While the prodigal chose to remain in

the far country, "no man ministered

unto him." By these words Jesus seems

to intimate quite clearly that to let them

alone is the most effective treatment for

those who are headstrong in error.

The proper interpretation of

certain verses in the first chapter of

Genesis gives us added understanding

of our privilege and duty. God's

universe was never "created" in the

sense of having been developed from a

previous state of non-existence. God's

universe is coeternal with Himself. Any

well-instructed Christian Scientist will

recognize this fact, without argument

from the Scripture to support it, though

such evidence can readily be given. The

record in the first chapter of Genesis is

not, therefore, a record of creation, but a

record of the inspired writer's advancing

periods of understanding of the universe

which eternally existed. Says Mrs. Eddy

in Science and Health (p. 504): "Was

not this a revelation instead of a

creation? The successive appearing of

God's ideas is represented as taking

place on so many evenings and

mornings, — words which indicate, in

the absence of solar time, spiritually

clearer views of Him, views which are

not implied by material darkness and

dawn." While we are passing through

the advancing periods of understanding,

the human sense may be subject to more

or less of disquietude and unrest. There

will be "days" when all will appear

bright and clear. Then other problems

will arise, which we are not able to

solve for a time, and we may pass

through a period of "night." Then we

succeed in solving or overcoming these

difficulties of understanding or

experience, and come into a brighter

and fuller "day." Finally, we arrive at

the goal of complete understanding,

where we know the truth, and know that

we know it, and feel scientifically

confident that we can abide in the

consciousness of Truth and protect

ourselves from coming under the

domination of error. While there is

much that we have not demonstrated,

yet we feel that we understand God,

understand His universe, and

understand ourselves, and that we have

sufficient hold on the truth, so that we

can make our way forward gradually to

a complete demonstration of that which

we know to be true, without let or

hindrance from error.

When we have attained this

consciousness, we have reached the day

of rest, — not a period of idleness, by

any means, but rather a period of

activity in demonstration of the truth.

Like God, we are able to "rest in action"

(Science and Health, p. 519) . We work

vigorously for our own advancement

and the advancement of others. While

doing so, we are confronted with all

sorts of errors, but they do not disturb

the harmony of our consciousness while

we are overcoming them. We are strong

enough in the truth so that they cannot

disturb us. So we are in perfect repose,

even while we are actively working.

This period of repose, this day of rest, is

our Sabbath day. We should "remember

the Sabbath day, to keep it holy;" that

is, our consciousness should rest in

God, and we should not allow

inharmonious, annoying, unholy

thoughts and feelings to enter. We

should keep our consciousness pure and

clear and our Sabbath day, our spiritual

consciousness, having been attained,

should endure forever.

"Despite the prosperity of my

church, it was learned that material

organization has its value and peril, and

that organization is requisite only in the

earliest periods in Christian history.

After this material form of cohesion and

fellowship has accomplished its end,

continued organization retards spiritual

growth, and should be laid off, — even

as the corporeal organization deemed

66

requisite in the first stages of mortal

existence is finally laid off, in order to

gain spiritual freedom and supremacy. .

. . Material organization wars with

Love's spiritual compact."— Mrs. Eddy

in "Retrospection and Introspection,"

pages 45, 47.

67

THE URGE OF GOD

In the original Greek of the New

Testament occurs in several places the

phrase orge theou (pronounced or-gay

the-ou), which most of the translators

render, "the wrath of God” For instance,

in Romans 1:18 we read: "For the wrath

of God is revealed from heaven against

all ungodliness, and unrighteousness of

men." This translation almost wholly

misrepresents the true meaning of the

Greek phrase, as we shall see.

Nearly all the peoples of ancient

and modern Europe were and are

descended from an ancient people,

named the "Aryans," who originally

inhabited the table-land of central Asia,

but made their way westward into

Europe in several successive

migrations. The languages spoken by

most of the peoples of ancient and

modern Europe represent modifications

of the language of the ancient Aryans.

The vast majority of the changes and

modifications which make the different

European languages so diverse from

each other took place before the art of

writing was invented or was in common

use and before there was much

intercommunication among tribes and

nations through travel.

One of the migrations from the

table-land of Asia went westward into

Southern Europe, and finally separated.

A portion went southward into what is

now known as the Grecian peninsula,

and became the progenitors of the

ancient Greek nation. Another portion

went into what is now known as the

Italian peninsula, and became the

progenitors of the ancient Latin and

other tribes, which finally united to

make the Roman nation.

Before this separation took

place, there was a verb in use, which,

when the art of writing was developed

among the Greeks, came to be

pronounced and spelled orgao, but,

among the Romans, came to be

pronounced and spelled urgeo. From

this Greek verb was formed the noun

orge, and another noun orgia, from

which is derived our English word

"orgy." From the Latin verb is derived

our English word "urge." Allied to these

in derivation, though not quite so

directly or evidently, is the English

word "work," which came through the

Saxon language, derived from the

ancient Aryan.

We are able to form a very

correct idea of the significance of orge

from these words, "orgy," "urge," and

"work," allied to it by derivation. The

primary sense of "orgy" is unbridled,

unlimited, unrestrained action. The

sense of the other two words is

sufficiently evident. Liddell and Scott's

Greek lexicon gives as the primary

meaning of orge "natural impulse," and

gives as other meanings, "disposition,

nature, heart."

Accordingly, it should be easy to

discern that the correct sense of the

Greek phrase orge theou is given by

such expressions as, "the natural

impulse of God," "the urge of God,"

"the urgency of good or Love," "the

work of good," "the unbridled or

unlimited action of divine Love."

Neither in this phrase, nor in any other

phrase in the New Testament, when

correctly translated, is there any

suggestion of anything akin to human

wrath or anger manifested by God. The

sense of orge theou is that of divine

Love overcoming evil with good. The

correct rendering of the verse quoted

from Romans would be: The nature

(urgency, unrestrained power) of God is

revealed from heaven against all

ungodliness and unrighteousness of men

(Rom. 1:18).

The correct sense of this Greek

phrase is of great use in Christian

Science treatment, since it enables us to

realize something of the constant

68

impulsion, the unrestrained nature, the

riotous profusion of the power of good,

of the power of love, joy, harmony,

substance, which are a law of

annihilation to all beliefs or

manifestations of hatred, malice,

jealousy, grief, discord, poverty, inertia,

stagnation, or death.

In the 19th Psalm, the sun is

poetically described "as a bridegroom

coming out of his chamber, rejoicing as

a strong man to run a race. His going

forth is from the end of the heaven, and

his circuit unto the ends of it: and there

is nothing hid from the heat thereof."

The sun constantly irradiates light and

heat, — not for the purpose of

dispelling darkness or cold, but because

it is the nature of the sun to constantly

send forth light and heat with

tremendous energy. If darkness or cold

get in the sun's way, they are destroyed.

Likewise it is the nature of God to

constantly irradiate with tremendous

energy into the whole realm of being,

life, strength, harmony, plenty, love and

joy. If beliefs of stagnation, death,

weakness, disease, hatred, malice,

poverty, or grief, seem to get in God's

way, the "orgy," the un- bridled action,

of God destroys them; and, if we realize

this, these beliefs will be destroyed for

us.

"When students have fulfilled all

the good ends of organization, and are

convinced that by leaving the material

forms thereof a higher spiritual unity is

won, then is the time to follow the

example of the Alma Mater. Material

organization is requisite in the

beginning; but when it has done its

work, the purely Christly method of

teaching and preaching must be

adopted. . . . The real Christian compact

is love for one another. This bond is

wholly spiritual and inviolate." — Mrs.

Eddy in "Miscellaneous Writings,"

pages 358 and 91.

69

WORK FOR THE PATIENT (From a Letter to a Patient)

There are certain things that you

should have in mind and work for in

your reading.

In the first place, you should

find reasons for understanding, in

theory, that there is no matter, — hence

no life, intelligence, sensation, strength,

or substance in matter. You will not be

able, for years or perhaps for centuries

to come, to overcome and lose all sense

of matter; yet you should find reasons

for understanding that there actually is

no matter. In Science and Health (p.

123), we read: "The verity of Mind

shows conclusively how it is that matter

seems to be, but is not."

In school, you found reasons for

understanding that the sun does not rise,

but that it stands still while the earth

revolves; but you have not yet been able

to make this evident to your eyes. You

can find reasons for knowing that the

rails on a straight, level railroad track do

not run together at a point on the

horizon; yet you cannot make this

evident to your eyes. In like manner,

you can find reasons for understanding

that there is no life, truth, intelligence,

substance, health, strength, or sensation

in matter, even though you cannot at

present prevent your physical senses

from testifying to the contrary. You will

be able to make the truth evident in part.

You will soon be able to prove to

yourself that there is far less sensation

in matter than you at present feel and

you will soon be able to prove largely

that strength and health are not from

matter hut from Mind, God. And it is

important that you find this out.

If an engineer trusted his eyes,

because of the rails seeming to converge

he would not dare to go ahead with his

train, lest it should run off the track; but,

trusting his reason instead of his eyes,

he goes ahead. So if you use your

reason, taking God as the Premise for

your reasoning instead of trusting the

false evidence of your physical senses,

you will go ahead and get well, even

though the senses are trying to tell you

that you will continue to be ill or that

you are going to run into the ditch for a

smash-up.

You should find reasons for

understanding that life, truth,

intelligence, health, strength and all

good things are from God (infinite

Mind), and that these things are really

eternal and indestructible. To a very

large degree, you can gain the

realization of these facts here and now,

— to a degree large enough so that you

will be stronger and healthier than ever

before in your life, and so that you will

live more years on the earth than you

would have lived without this

knowledge of the Science of

Christianity, even if you had not had

your present sickness.

Also, from your reading, you

should find reasons for understanding

that in reality there is no sin and no

sickness, and that there never was any,

because the infinite God, who is wholly

good and who created all, never made

any Sin and sickness are delusions of

the human consciousness, — not states

of the body, — delusions which by the

knowledge of the Truth, as above

described, can and will be cast out.

Jesus said, "Ye shall know the

Truth and the Truth shall make

you free." Through the knowledge of

the Truth, you will be able to prove,

here and now in your own person, the

nothingness of sin and sickness; for, if

they were something, God himself

could not destroy them; but being

illusions, mistaken beliefs (though

seeming very real), they can be

destroyed.

Also, from your reading, you

should find reasons for understanding

70

what Jesus meant when he said: "Call

no man your father upon the earth; for

One is your Father, even God." You

should learn to understand that the

human sense of life and generation is a

false sense; that, in reality, your only

true parentage is in God, and hence your

only heritage is good. In truth, there is

no mortal law of heredity. "What mean

ye, that ye use this proverb, saying. The

fathers have eaten sour grapes and the

children's teeth are set on edge? As I

live, saith the Lord God, ye shall not

have occasion to use this proverb.

Behold, all souls are mine; as the soul

of the father, so also the soul of the son,

is mine, saith the Lord God" (Ezek.

18:2-4). Since God is the only Creator,

man is not a creator. Hence, God alone

is Father-Mother; and man is not a

father and woman is not a mother (See

Matt. 12:47-50). God is "our Father

which art in heaven," and there is in

reality no parent beside Him. When we

find this out and make it real to

ourselves, we shall find ourselves

inheriting good only. There is nothing

in this teaching to interfere with the

fullest degree of love toward those

whom we formerly called parents. We

are no longer to regard them as parents

in a fundamental sense; but we are to

love them because they are children of

God, brothers and sisters in the Lord

(See again Matt.12:47-50).

You should learn to understand

that your life is eternally "hid with

Christ in God," and that nothing can

attack or destroy your life; that the false

sense of sin, disease, and death cannot

even seem to attack it, as soon as you

know enough of Truth to cast false

sense out. Christ said: "If a man keeps

my saying, he shall never see death,"

and it is possible for you to learn,

understand, and keep his saying, and

thus not see death, — at least for years

and years to come. If you could

understand and keep his saying wholly,

you would never see death at all.

Perhaps you cannot do this wholly, but

you can do it sufficiently for all present

purposes; for thousands, who were

worse off than you are, have done so

before you in the last forty years.

You should study your text-

book, Science and Health, and such

other literature as your practitioner

directs, faithfully according to your

strength, and try to find reasons for

understanding the things above

outlined, and you should not worry if

the understanding does not come very

rapidly; it will come in due time. Do

just as you used to do in school. You

tried each day to understand the books

which you were studying, and you

gained a little more knowledge each

day, and you were reasonably content.

You were not surprised or discouraged,

and you did not worry, because you did

not understand the whole book or even

everything in the day's lesson, during

the first few weeks that you studied the

book. You felt confident that you would

learn all about it in time and so you

were satisfied with each day's

attainment. In like manner, study

Science and Health and the other

literature. Study with confidence and

with diligence, yet without a sense of

haste, and the understanding will

gradually come; and as the

understanding comes, the healing will

come. Meanwhile, the mental work that

your practitioner does for you and the

understanding of these truths that he

holds for you will be of great assistance

to you, and may heal you before you

come to the understanding for yourself.

But: there is no danger of your learning

too much or too rapidly.

You would do well to commit to

memory as soon as convenient the

following verses of Scripture: Isa.

40:31; Gal. 5:16; Rom. 6:12; Gal. 5:24,

25; 2 Tim. 1:7.

Also commit to memory as soon

as possible the following passages from

Science and Health: Page 76, lines 22-

71

26; page 326, lines 16-21; page 327,

lines 1-7; page 468, hues 7-15. Read

two or three times per week page 390,

line 12, to page 393, line 21.

"Such books as will rule disease

out of mortal mind, — and so efface the

images and thoughts of disease, instead

of impressing them with forcible

descriptions and medical details, — will

help to abate sickness and to destroy it."

— Mrs. Eddy in Science and Health,

page 196.

72

SELF-SURRENDER THROUGH LOVE

A person who is seeking healing,

or the solution of any other specific

problem, through

Christian Science, is scarcely

forgetting self while working on that

problem directly, no matter how correct

the metaphysical declarations and the

denials of error which he is making.

Such a line of work is legitimate, but it

is an open question whether it is always

the most effective. In military activities,

many a position of an enemy can be

carried by a flank movement that could

not be carried by a direct attack, and

this fact illustrates what is often true in

the Christian life. In the matter of food

and clothing, Jesus told us not to seek

them directly, but to seek first the

kingdom of God and his righteousness

and let them be added. The same

general procedure is frequently an

excellent one for overcoming sickness

and sin. If we can effectively seek and

gain the kingdom of God in a general

way, — in ways that have no direct

bearing upon our specific personal

problems, — we may find that, in such

an hour as we think not, health and

holiness along the particular lines in

which we have been striving for them

are added unto us. The great law of the

Christian life is, not so much to seek

something for ourselves, however high

and worthy that object may be, but to

seek to forget self in the love of God

and man. Some definite suggestions as

to methods of doing this may be worth

considering.

Any line of procedure which

tends to a habitual thought and love of

God and to the general spiritualization

of consciousness is exceedingly useful.

One method which many follow is to

set aside times and seasons in which the

effort is made to withdraw thought as

fully as possible from all the affairs of

worldly living and to fix it upon the

facts and laws of Spirit and of the

spiritual life. This is what is meant by

going into one's closet to pray and by

going into the desert to pray.

Unquestionably such times and seasons

are indispensable to the attainment of

spiritual life.

But there is another method

which seems to be overlooked by many.

That is the method of seeing in all the

affairs of normal human living a

symbolic presentation of higher

realities. There never can be a

counterfeit along any line unless there is

a genuine to be counterfeited. Christian

Scientists are aware that all activities on

the material plane of living are

counterfeits, more or less reversed, of

spiritual activities. Spirit is the real

substance, and matter is the counterfeit

sense of substance. God's infinite idea is

the real man and human corpo-realities

are counterfeit presentations of man. If

the real man were not feeding upon the

truth and love manifested by God, the

counterfeit presentations of corporeal

men feeding upon material food could

not appear. Unless the divine idea Aver

ever in Mind, being thus clothed and

sheltered in Mind or Spirit which is the

true substance, the counterfeit

presentations of men being clothed and

housed materially could not appear.

Unless the real man were being

entertained by the continued

contemplation of good, beauty, and

harmony in infinite variety, the

counterfeit presentations of corporeal

men being entertained by activities of

various kinds on a material basis could

not appear.

On the human plane, in our

present stage of advancement, we need

material food, clothing, shelter and

entertainment, — so much so that Jesus,

speaking from the human point of view,

declared: "Your heavenly Father

knoweth that ye have need of these

things," — a statement which is not true

73

in absolute metaphysics. The fact to be

now considered and borne in mind is,

that unless God were good and

constantly supplying good to the real

man, it would be impossible that there

should be presented to us those

manifestations which appear to us as

good on the material plane. From this

view-point, we are privileged to see,

and to meditate upon, and to be grateful

for, the goodness of God in connection

with our daily eating, and being clothed

and housed, and in connection with our

innocent pleasures, even though they be

more or less of a material order.

In Miscellaneous Writings (p.

86), Mrs. Eddy has most clearly

expressed the relation which should

subsist between our sense of the

beauties and bounties of the human

world and the spiritual realities. She

writes as follows: "My sense of the

beauty of the universe is, that beauty

typifies holiness, and is something to be

desired. Earth is more spiritually

beautiful to my gaze now than when it

was earthlier to the eyes of Eve. The

pleasant sensations of human belief, of

form and color, must be spiritualized,

until we gain the glorified sense of

Substance as in the new Heaven and

earth, the harmony of body and Mind.

Even the human conception of beauty,

grandeur, and utility, is something that

defies a sneer. It is more than

imagination. It is next to divine beauty

and the grandeur of Spirit. It lives with

our earth-life, and is the subjective state

of high thoughts."

To eat material food merely as

material food with ac thought of

anything else, is to be carnally minded,

and to act in the order of death; but to

see in material eating a symbol of

feeding on the body and blood of Christ,

— that is, of assimilating truth and love,

to be more spiritually minded and to act

in the order of life. To dwell in one's

earthly home, seeing in it nothing but a

manifestation of matter, is to dwell in a

house which is dead, but to think of the

material home as a symbol of the

Father's house, — "the house not made

with hands, eternal in the heavens," —

is to make one's thought of home

instinct with life. Human activities of all

kinds, carried on and thought of solely

on a material basis, must of necessity

become dull and uninteresting; but

normal human activities regarded as

symbols of spiritual activities, and with

the thought resting largely on the

spiritual, even while the material is

being performed, are instinct with

interest and loving gratitude to God. To

see material objects and activities

merely as material, is to see them as

dead; but to see them as representing on

the human plane spiritual ideas and

activities, is to see the normal affairs of

daily existence as full of life and love.

A watch which one purchases

for himself may be merely a useful

material article, but a watch given to

one by his father or mother may be not

only a useful article, but almost a

constant reminder of love and

providence. In the one case, one's

thought of the watch is dead; in the

other case, it is alive, giving much more

satisfaction than in the former case.

Likewise, as already suggested, it is our

privilege to see in every material

possession, legitimately gained and

held, a symbol of our heavenly Father's

love and care, thus keeping our thought

constantly alive with an intelligent

perception and love of God in

connection with every phase of our

human living.

When a gift is given to some

people, they will go through the form of

thanking the donor, with more or less of

realized thankfulness at the time of

receiving it, but will go on using this

gift week after week, and year after

year, without again thinking of the

donor. Other people, receiving a useful

gift, will frequently think of the donor

when using it, and may even express

74

their appreciation to the giver at

different times. Those who soon forget

the giver get far less satisfaction from

the gift than do those who not only use

the gift, but often think of the giver. The

thought of the former class is filled with

intelligence with regard to the gifts

which they have, while the latter class

manifests non-intelligence — that is,

death.

When one first begins to read a

well-written and newsy letter from a

friend, one's attention may, at first, be

somewhat directed to the paper and the

character of the hand- writing, but soon

the attention is caught by the lines of

thought which the written words

symbolize, and, thereafter, the attention

is carried along on a plane distinctly

higher than that of letter paper and

written words, though the attention is

directed and guided by those written

characters. However, if the reader were

to fix his thoughts upon the quality of

the paper and the character and details

of the handwriting as he went along, he

would largely miss the line of thought

which the written words were in- tended

to convey. Thus he would lose the

higher and more satisfying interest

through a lower line of thought,

unworthy of his attention for the most

part. The written words of the letter are

not the thought and love of the writer,

but they symbolize and serve to convey

the thought and love to one who reads

the letter aright. Material food, drink,

clothing, houses, fields, landscapes, and

other material objects which contribute

to human comfort and satisfaction, are

not creations of God; nevertheless, they

may and should symbolize to human

sense the intelligent care and love of

God, the infinite Father.

He whose thought and attention

are centered on these material objects,

instead of being carried above them

though in considerable degree directed

and guided by them, makes the same

kind of a mistake as does the reader of a

letter whose thought is so much

centered on the paper and the character

of the hand- writing that he misses the

love and intelligence which the letter

was intended to convey. St. Paul has

well suggested in his letter to the

Romans: "The invisible things of Him

from the creation of the world are

clearly seen, being understood by the

things that are made, even His eternal

power and Godhead." As previously

suggested, one may spiritualize his

thought by withdrawing as fully as

possible from all material objects and

pursuits, but to spiritualize his thought

by that method, he must give his entire

time and attention to the effort so long

as he is engaged in it. On the other

hand, by cultivating the habit of seeing

in material objects and pursuits symbols

of higher realities and activities as

between God and the spiritual man, and

of thus having the thought directed to

spiritual things by all the details of daily

living, one may have his consciousness

filled with the recognition and love of

God practically all of the time, even

when about his normal and proper

human business and recreation.

These thoughts are in distinct

accord with Mrs. Eddy's teaching on

pages 86 and 87 of "Miscellaneous

Writings," as previously quoted, and in

the following paragraph: "To take all

earth's beauty into one gulp of vacuity

and label beauty nothing, is ignorantly

to caricature God's creation; which is

unjust to human sense, and to the divine

realism. In our immature sense of

spiritual things, let us say of the

beauties of the sensuous universe: 'I

love your promise; and shall know,

sometime, the spiritual reality and

substance of form, light, and color, of

what I now through you discern dimly;

and knowing this, I shall be satisfied.

Matter is a frail conception of mortal

mind; and mortal mind is a poorer

representative of the beauty, grandeur,

and glory of the immortal Mind.' "

75

How truly St. Paul has written:

"If that which was done away is

glorious, how much more that which

remaineth is glorious" (2 Cor.3:11).

It is undoubtedly wise and

necessary for every seeker after the

spiritual life to have seasons of

withdrawing his thought as completely

as possible from material objects and

activities, in order to be "alone with

God"; but let not this be the only

reliance for spiritualizing

consciousness, since very few people

are so situated that they can spend any

considerable portion of the day in the

"closet" communion with God. In

addition to this, through taking material

objects and pursuits, not as finalities of

thought, but as symbols of higher lines

of mental activity let the consciousness

be spiritualized in every minute and

hour of the day, whether in "the hour of

prayer," or in the market-place, or the

field, or the home, or the place of

legitimate amusement.

There are very few people, even

among those who are "sick" and "poor,"

who can- not, if they will, count more

comforts than serious deprivations, and

with most people the comforts far

outnumber the deprivations. With many,

health seems the only thing lacking to a

reasonable degree of joy and

contentment. To work directly for the

attainment of health or supply even by

meta- physical means (and this is

entirely legitimate, for a portion of one's

activity), it is necessary to center

thought in some measure on self and

what self hopes to gain — and in some

measure on the deprivation or lack

which one seeks to overcome. On the

other hand, to center the thought on God

and on the comforts and blessings

which one has, — denying the sickness

or lack in any given line as much as

may be, — and to lift the thought to

God in gratitude for many comforts and

blessings, is to take one's thought off

self, and to place it on God, the

universal good, thus tending to

"overcome self," or to surrender self in

spiritual love. Whoever will cultivate

and attain this habitual recognition of

God and gratitude to Him will soon gain

a quality of consciousness in which

habitual sin, disease or poverty cannot

continue. They will be overcome, not so

much by direct effort as by crowding

them out of experience through a

general spiritualizing and uplifting of

the consciousness or life. The direct

effort is usually necessary, but it should

always be supplemented by the indirect

activity above described, — an activity

not really undertaken for the purpose of

gaining any specific thing, but for both

the duty and satisfaction of reflecting

back to God that intelligence and love

which He is constantly radiating toward

man.

There are many cases of chronic

disease, which are yielding to direct

effort through argument in Christian

Science only slowly or seemingly, thus

far, not at all, which will soon yield, if

the direct effort is supplemented by self-

surrender through habitual love and

gratitude to God, — ceasing to take the

com- forts and blessings of daily living

as "matters of course" and thinking

mostly of those things of which we

seem to be deprived, but following the

suggestion of the psalmist, so frequently

repeated by him: "O, that men would

praise the Lord for his goodness, and for

his wonderful works to the children of

men."

The ice which is upon the river

or lake in midwinter did not form there

in a day or a week, but represents the

accumulation of the winter's cold. So a

chronic disease, manifest in the body,

did not get seated there in a week or a

month, but represents the accumulation

of months or years of wrong thought

and living. Could we turn upon the ice

on the lake in mid- winter the heat of a

midsummer sun we could cause it to

break up and disappear in a very few

76

days, but that is impossible. However,

the continued shining of the sun of early

spring, dispensing each day a

comparatively slight amount of heat,

before very long breaks up and melts

away the ice. Could we turn upon the

accumulation of wrong thought in

mortal mind and the resulting disease a

large realization of the love and power

of God, and we often can, we could

cause the disease to break up and

wholly disappear in a few hours or days,

and this is frequently done. But suppose

we cannot command a sufficient

realization to do this quickly, yet we can

accomplish it before very long, if we

persistently turn upon the evil condition

even a small realization of God's love

and power.

The first day that the spring sun

shines, the ice is apparently not affected

at all, nor the second day, nor for many

days; but finally there comes a day

when the ice is noticeably affected,

even to the point of breaking in pieces.

It was not alone that day's sunshine that

accomplished this result, but the

accumulation of the many days of

shining that had gone before. So let us

continue to cultivate spiritual thought

by any and all methods, especially by

love and gratitude to God, whether the

disease seems to yield or not. If we do

so persistently, — not merely

spasmodically, — there will come a day

when the disease will yield markedly,

and this will be the result, not merely of

the last day's spiritual work, but of the

accumulation of our spiritual thought

and growth. A wise man of the East has

well said: "Let no man think lightly of

good, saying in his heart. It will not

come nigh unto me. Even by the falling

of water drops a water pot is filled. So

the wise man becomes full of good,

even if he gathers it little by little. . . .

Even a good man sees evil days so long

as his good (thoughts and) deeds do not

ripen; but when his good (thoughts and)

deeds ripen, then does the good man see

good things."

77

MAKING THE PORT

A brave and skillful mariner,

once well started on his voyage, never

turns back, but keeps headed toward the

port of his destination, no matter what

obstacles present them- selves. His ship,

wisely steered and strongly propelled

from within, makes progress even while

it is being buffeted by the winds and

waves. So shall I make progress, steered

by the acknowledgment of God in all

my ways, and propelled from within

and above by Love and Truth. I will not

truckle in spirit, nor yield for a moment

my poise and self-control, nor even

think of turning back in my course, for

pain, nor for any suggestions of doubt,

fear, or despondency ; but I shall win a

victory over afflictions by patience,

calmness, determination, perseverance,

courage, and understanding, all born of

God.

Just as the mariner does not ask

the winds and waves whether or not he

is making progress, but asks his chart

and compass, so I will not ask the

feelings or states of my body whether or

not I am getting on, but I will ask my

increasing understanding of God's word,

which is my chart and compass. I will

"look away from the body into Truth

and Love" (Science and Health, 261:2.)

I will, in my calculations of progress,

"be absent from the body, and present

with the Lord" (2 Cor.5:8). And when

this storm of distress is past, I shall be

farther on than before it commenced, in

moral strength, in character, in health,

and in knowledge of the Truth.

When the storm arises, the

mariner does not turn off steam and

drift before the wind, any- where it

chooses to carry him; but he turns on

more steam and keeps headed straight

for port. So, when the storms of distress

or suffering rise against me, I will not

cease to know and declare Truth and

Love, and I will not utter the complaints

of mortal mind, and so let it carry me

backward; but during the storm of

suffering, I will hold on to Truth and

Love all the harder. I will declare them

all the more stoutly. So shall I make

progress toward final healing even in

the midst of the worst distress.

"Be not weary in well doing; for

in due season you shall reap, if you faint

not." — Gal. 6:9.

78

IS GOD OUR FATHER-MOTHER?

Is God our tender, loving Father-

Mother? Potentially, yes. — the Father-

Mother of all men. But from a present,

practical standpoint, whether He is our

loving parent and provider depends

upon us. St. Paul declares: "They which

are the children of the flesh, these are

not the children of God." Yet all human

beings have the capacity to become the

children of God. The fact is that we do

not come naturally by knowledge of

God and of right relations with Him any

more than we come naturally by

knowledge of mathematics or music.

In so far as we gain a practical

understanding of mathematics, we may

be said to be children of mathematics,

but this understanding has to be

intelligently and laboriously acquired.

Likewise, in so far as we diligently seek

and acquire a knowledge of God and

His law, and order our thought and lives

in the continual consciousness of Him

and in obedience to His law, in that far

we are children of God; and He is our

Father-Mother just so far as we thus

become His children, and no farther.

We get the benefit and care of divine

Love just in proportion as we work our

way into mental and practical accord

with the law of divine Love.

It might be rather foolish for a

man confined in a dark cave to claim

that the sun was his source of light and

heat, but if he could work his way out of

the cave into the fight, his claim would

be justified. The sun does place light

within the reasonable reach of every

man in the world, but it will not chase a

man into a cave or other dark place, as a

dog follows its master, in order to give

him light. The man must keep himself

in the light which is within his reach. So

God places all good within the

reasonable reach of every man in the

world, but God does not take separate

account of every human being and

follow each man into ignorance and sin,

in such a way as to force knowledge and

righteousness upon him without diligent

effort on his own part. Each man must

meet God half way. St. Paul declares

that God is "a rewarder of them that

diligently seek him."

What has just been stated may

seem to be at variance with certain

passages of Scripture: For instance,

Jesus frequently declared: "The son of

man is come to seek and save that

which is lost." Undoubtedly Christ

Jesus is God's representative in the

world, but in a mediatory capacity, such

that the mediatory Christ-mind,

animating the activity of Jesus and other

human beings, takes account of

particular human needs in such a way as

the absolute Mind, God, does not. Then

Jesus declared concerning material food

and raiment, "Your Heavenly Father

knoweth that ye have need of these

things." There seems little doubt that

Jesus made this statement, as he did

several others which are recorded in the

New Testament, having in view the

immature condition of the

understanding of his auditors. He was

feeding milk to the babes, rather than

meat to strong men. So, instead of

making some of his statements from the

standpoint of absolute truth, he made

them from the human view-point. When

men "seek first the kingdom of God and

His righteousness," as Jesus told them

to do in this same connection, it does

result that what they need materially is

"added unto" them. It works out just as

it would if God actually did know that

they had need of these things, and took

particular account of each man's need to

supply it. Jesus declared: "God so loved

the world that He gave His only

begotten son, that whosoever believeth

on him, should not perish, but have

everlasting life." This verse represents

God as knowing of men who are lost,

and as loving a lost world, and as

79

deliberately sending His son into it.

God's nature, as absolute perfection,

would render this impossible; but since

God is omnipresent good, and thus

places all good, through His

manifestations in the Christ, constantly

in the reach of all men who are willing

to seek diligently to appropriate what is

thus provided, it works out in human

experience as though God loved the

world, and purposely sent His only

begotten Son to be the Savior of the

world. "Beloved, now are we (who have

been spiritually quickened) the sons of

God, and it doth not yet appear what we

shall be (when we have fully

apprehended and demonstrated the

divine son-ship): but we know that

when He shall (fully) appear (to our

advancing understanding), we shall be

(shall then realize ourselves as being)

like Him; for we shall see Him as He

is."

80

THE LAME WALK

"Be willing (choosing) to be

absent (in thought) from the body, and

to be present with the Lord." — 2

Cor.5: 8

"Look away from the body into

Truth and Love, the Principle of all

happiness, harmony, and immortality."

— Science and Health, 261:2-4.

"Divine Science, rising above

physical theories, excludes matter,

resolves things into thoughts, and

replaces the objects of material sense

with spiritual ideas." — Science and

Health, 123:12-15.

Christ promised to his disciples

in all ages: "He that believeth on me,

the works that I do shall he do also."

This same Christ declared, "I am the

truth;" so his promise evidently means,

He that understandeth me, the truth, and

worketh from this basis of truth, the

works that I do shall he do also. Jesus

also declared that the knowledge of the

truth should make men free from error

and evil of various kinds. Evidently,

therefore, the problem of being able to

repeat the healing works of Jesus in

these modern times is the problem of

learning to understand and to apply the

Christ-Truth.

This Christ-Truth was taught and

demonstrated by Jesus in Galilee, and

was understood and practiced by his

immediate disciples, and by his

disciples of the first two or three

centuries. Following that time, the

understanding of the truth which makes

it possible to heal the sick was lost, and

remained for the most part unknown

and unused until it was rediscovered

from the Scriptures and again taught

and demonstrated by the founder of the

modern Christian Science movement,

the Rev. Mary Baker Eddy, who made

her discovery in 1866, enlarged it in the

years immediately following, and

afterwards taught it to a rapidly

increasing number of students, either

through personal instruction, or through

the Christian Science textbook,

"Science and Health, with Key to the

Scriptures," and through her other

writings. Many of these students,

through this instruction, have so learned

to understand the Scriptures, that they

are able in some measure to fulfill the

commission of Christ, "Preach the

gospel; heal the sick," in the same

manner that he preached and healed.

As an exemplification that this is

true, the author will speak of a few

cases of healing which have been

brought about under his own

ministration, knowing, as he does, just

what was done and said in order to

effect the healing; and if he tells about

them in considerable detail, it may serve

to prove to some who are just beginning

to investigate Christian Science the

truth of the Principle and teachings of

this Science, and it may help some to

make demonstrations for themselves.

The writer was talking, one

evening, with eight or ten laboring men,

in a room where they were gathered;

and, after a time, the conversation

turned upon the subject of Christian

Science.- They began to ask questions,

which the writer answered to the best of

his ability, and which led up to other

questions and answers, — some of the

answers given seeming quite strange

and remarkable to some of the hearers.

After a time, a young man sitting in a

chair, with a crutch at each side, said,

"If what you are saying is true, what

about my ankle, here?" The writer

asked, "What about your ankle?" Then

the young man went on to relate that,

nearly a year before, while he was

helping to handle some heavy telephone

poles, one of them fell, by accident,

upon his ankle and mashed it very

badly. A surgeon removed more than a

score of pieces of bone, and pieces of

ligament, and bound up the ankle. Other

81

pieces of bone festered out during

following weeks. Then the skin healed

over at the surface, but was red and of

unnatural texture. The ankle was

shrunken and remained so sore that it

was impossible to touch the foot to the

floor without excruciating pain. This

condition had continued for many

months, and no improvement was

evident; and the young man had been

obliged to walk with two crutches ever

since the accident and his physicians

could not seem to do anything for him.

Other men in the group, who

were well acquainted with the young

man, confirmed the account. After

listening to his story the writer took up a

Socratic line of questioning, and led the

young man to assent to the following

propositions, which will be seen to be

logically related to each other: God is

Spirit. God is infinite Intelligence,

infinite Love, and infinite Will.

Intelligence, feeling, and will are the

characteristics of Mind; and since God

manifests all these in infinite degree, He

is infinite Mind; that is, infinite Mind is

God; and Spirit is infinite Mind; so

these are interchangeable names for the

Deity.

God is sole Creator, as the

Scripture teaches. Therefore infinite

Mind is sole Creator. On stopping to

think about it, we perceive that the

creations of Mind are necessarily

mental, that is to say, ideas. Therefore

all that is created by the sole Creator

consists of ideas, which are true,

changeless, eternal, and perfect or

harmonious, according to the nature of

Mind, God, who thinks them into being.

Ideas are either simple or

compound. Let us illustrate. The

multiplication table is a compound idea,

made up of simpler ideas, like the ideas,

"two times three equals six," "four times

five equals twenty," and so on. Some of

the ideas which constitute the real

universe are compound ideas, and other

ideas are simpler ideas included within

these compound ideas.

If you are anything at all, God

made you; for God makes all that is

made. If God made you, you are the

creation of infinite Mind; and so you are

the idea of God, in His image and

likeness, and you are not a form of

matter, whatever the appearance may

be. You are the compound idea of God

and every part of you, known as it is, is

a simpler idea of God, included in the

compound idea, which you are.

Before proceeding farther to the

particular point which we are to make,

in order that we may understand it more

clearly when made, let us examine in a

little detail the nature of an idea. Let us

take one that we are familiar with, —

the idea, "two times three equals six."

There never was a time when it was not

true, when it was not a fact or an

actuality, that two times three equals

six; there never will be a time when it

will not be a fact or an actuality; there is

not a place in the universe where it is

not now a fact or an actuality. So that

idea is as enduring as eternity, and as

large as the universe, like the infinite

creative Mind, which ordained this idea

as true and real. You will readily see

that this idea cannot be improved, for it

is already perfect of its kind; and it

cannot be impaired, for nothing has

power over it, save God alone, who

ordained it as eternally true. It cannot be

destroyed. As is true of God Himself,

"from everlasting to everlasting" two

times three equals six. All God's ideas,

all His creations, are endowed with His

changelessness, indestructibleness, and

perfection.

Can you conceive of anyone

changing the idea "two times three

equals six?" Could anyone bury it?

Could anyone lock it up? Could anyone

run it through a machine and mangle it?

Could a telephone pole fall on it and

crush it? Evidently not; for the idea

"two times three equals six" is infinite

82

and omnipresent, and is not in or of

matter, nor subject to the power of

matter. Material symbols of this idea

may be made with chalk upon the

blackboard or with the pencil on paper;

but the idea is not in those symbols, nor

in any way governed by them, though it

may be expressed by them to mortal

men. Whatever may happen to the

symbols does not at all happen to the

idea ; for the idea is ever the same.

If you have any ankle, God

made it; that is, infinite Mind thought it

into being, and holds it in being as an

everlasting and true idea; and like the

Mind which thinks and holds it in being,

this idea is infinite, omnipresent, un-

picturable without outlines, changeless

and perfect. It is neither in matter nor

composed of matter. Therefore, your

ankle, the ankle which God made,

which is the only ankle there is (for

there is no other Creator), was never

under a telephone pole, and never could

have been crushed by one. What you

call your ankle is but an unreal material

symbol of some real idea, — or rather, a

false concept thereof. If now we know

and declare the truth, the fact, about

your real ankle, as we have just done,

this knowledge of the truth will destroy

the belief of discord, pain, and

weakness in connection with that belief

which seems to you to be your ankle; in

other words, this knowledge and

declaration of the truth will cause the

unreal symbol to appear harmonious

instead of discordant. I tell you, the only

real ankle you have, the ankle which

God made, the divine and perfect idea

ankle, was never under a telephone pole

and was never crushed; and any false

appearances in connection with that

which seems to be your ankle have no

reality, and no power to remain; for they

are mere false beliefs, lies of Satan,

which the truth that we have just

declared has power to correct, and so

destroy.

Within three days, without

anything further being done or said, the

young man hung up his crutches and

began to walk about with a light cane.

The soreness and weakness had almost

entirely disappeared. A short time later,

he discarded the cane also. Within a few

weeks of the time of the conversation,

he was acting as conductor on an open

street car, making his way on and off

the car, and along the running-boards

filled with standing men, with as much

ease as though no accident had ever

happened to him. In truth, there never

did, although it so appeared in the realm

of mortal belief. But our Lord and

Savior said: "Judge not by appearances,

but judge righteous judgment," which

righteous judgment we did judge, in

connection with the young man's ankle.

The writer presumes that this

account may seem strange doctrine to

some who have not made a study of

Christian Science; but he wishes to call

attention to the following fact:

He told that young man that his

real ankle, the only ankle he actually

had, was an idea of God, boundless,

eternal, indestructible, and perfect; and

that his real ankle was never under a

telephone pole, and was never crushed.

When he made that statement to him, he

told him either the truth, or a falsehood.

It was one or the other. The statement

did more for the young man within a

few days than skillful physicians, aided

by the so-called healing forces of

nature, had been able to do for him in

many months. You do not believe that a

falsehood would have such power. If

the statement was not a falsehood, it

was a truth; and it is a truth which

illustrates the nature of all reality. The

whole real universe is an ideal universe,

consisting of divine ideas, which are

eternally and changelessly endowed

with the harmony, perfection, beauty,

and uprightness of God, their Maker.

And whoever knows this fact, and will

maintain it in his thinking and declare it

83

when there is occasion, can, according

to the measure and clearness of his

understanding and realization,

overcome the discords, diseases, and

troubles with which he seems to be

afflicted; and, in greater or lesser

measure, he can perform a like service

for his fellow men.

To avoid possibility of

misconception, let it be clearly stated

that the divine ideas, of which the ankle,

heart, eyes, and other parts and organs

of the human body are reversed

counterfeits or misconceptions, are all

limitless, un-picturable, without shape,

and their precise nature and office in

Mind "doth not yet appear," but will

appear as we come to understand God

more fully. As God does not use

articulate speech, these divine ideas are,

of course, not known to divine Mind by

the names given by men to their mortal

counterfeits. The "spiritual body" (1

Cor.15:44) is the body or sum-total of

right ideas, completely expressing God.

The teaching of this article is not an

attempt at spiritualizing matter or the

human body. On the other hand, it

advocates "replacing the objects of

material sense with spiritual ideas" (S.

& H., p. 123). It is not an attempt at

localizing these ideas, but teaches their

boundlessness and omnipresence.

Christian Science is pure

metaphysics; that is, it is above, beyond,

and over physics, or that which is

visible and material. In the experience

of any student at the start, Christian

Science does not correspond at all to the

so-called physical or sensible world; yet

it is true, that, if a student will study and

accept Christian Science as a purely

mental or metaphysical science, when

he is firmly established on its

metaphysical basis, he can then use his

knowledge to produce visible changes

in the so-called physical realm.

Archimedes, when he discovered the

basic law of leverage said, "Give me

where to stand (outside the world), and I

will move the world." Christian Science

does give us a firm mental standing-

ground outside the so-called physical

and visible; and, having discovered and

learned to stand upon this basis,

according to the measure and

absoluteness of our metaphysical

realization we can move off the physical

appearances named diseases, whether

organic or inorganic, so-called. With a

very complete and absolute realization

of the metaphysical, we could produce

even more marvelous changes in the so-

called physical. Jesus was the master

metaphysician of all who have ever

appeared upon the earth; and he, from

the metaphysical standpoint, not only

healed all manner of disease but

changed the water into wine, multiplied

the loaves and fishes, caused the fig tree

to wither to the roots, restored the

withered hand, gave sight to the blind,

hearing to the deaf, and caused the lame

to walk.

As confirmatory evidence that

the method of work above described is

efficacious, and that it is actually

workable in daily practice, the author

will speak very much more briefly of

two or three other cases of healing.

A lady complained of having

had a large number of corns on her toes,

which had caused her much annoyance

for many years. The writer took up a

line of thought with her, just as he did

with the young man, and showed her

that her real toes are ideas of God,

eternal, changeless, and perfect. He also

showed her, that, just as the simpler

ideas of the multiplication table abide

together within the table, and never get

in each other's way or interfere with

each other, likewise our real toes, as

ideas of God, eternally dwell together in

creative Mind, and never get in each

other's way, or interfere with each other,

nor can they be made to do so. He said

to her that she seemed to have trouble

with her toes because she believed the

false sense about them, and thought

84

them to be material, limited, and subject

to change and disease; and he showed

her that this could not be true of

anything which God created, and He

made all that is made. Following this

conversation, without further treatment

the lady forgot about her feet, until

chancing to look at them a few days

later, she found no corns in evidence,

although the trouble had seemed to be a

fixed condition for years. A false

declaration could not have cured her so

remarkably; so the declaration was true,

and illustrates the ideality and

changeless perfection of the real

universe, and the real man.

A lady showed the author a hand

badly broken out in appearance with

what is called salt-rheum, which

condition had been in evidence several

weeks. She knew nothing of Christian

Science. So, without preliminary

explanation, the writer declared to her

directly that her hand was an idea of

God, an idea in Mind, and not a form of

matter ; that her real blood was the same

as the blood of Christ; namely, divine

Life and Love (the writer was not

referring to the blood of Jesus, which

was the same as that of any other

mortal, but to the blood of Christ) ; and

so her real blood could not be impure;

that the substance of her hand was

creative Mind, which eternally upholds

the idea which her hand is; and so

neither her hand, nor its substance, nor

its blood, could, in truth, be diseased.

Nothing else was said; but she left the

room and forgot about the hand, until,

chancing to look at it next morning, she

found it whole and fair like the other.

These demonstrations are among

thousands made by Christian Science

practitioners, who give visible proof of

the significance and truth of the

following words of Mrs. Eddy: "Every

creation or idea of Spirit has its

counterfeit in some matter-belief. Every

material belief hints the existence of

spiritual reality; and if mortals are

instructed in spiritual things, it will be

seen that material belief, in all its

manifestations, reversed, will be found

the type and representative of verities

priceless, eternal, and just at hand." —

Miscellaneous Writings, pages, 60, 61.

The writer was most remarkably

healed through the demonstration of

Christian Science, and has been blessed

in countless ways in his own personal

experience; and for these blessings, and

for the understanding of the Scriptures

which has enabled him to be of some

help to his fellow men, he gives thanks

to God and the Lord Jesus, and he also

gratefully remembers the woman

through whose discovery, labors, and

sacrifices this healing truth has been

made known to this age and generation.

"Science and Health with Key

to the Scriptures," by Mary Baker

Eddy, frequently quoted from in the

foregoing pages can be purchased at the

Reading Rooms of the various Christian

Science churches throughout the world,

or from the publisher, Allison V.

Stewart, Falmouth and St. Paul Sts.,

Boston, Mass. In cloth 700 pages; this

book, with the Bible, is the

fountainhead of all modern knowledge

of Christian Science.

85

OTHER BOOKS ON CHRISTIAN SCIENCE

Written by REV. G. A. KRATZER

"SPIRITUAL MAN"

This book is uniform in size, styles and prices with "Dominion Within." It

consists of articles dealing with the theory and practice of Christian Science. It will be

of especial use to those who wish to go into the deeper things of Christian Science

metaphysics, and who wish to understand what are ordinarily considered the "hard

problems" of this Science. It has a worldwide circulation.

"WHAT IS TRUTH?"

This pamphlet was published at the request of several active workers in

Christian Science, who urged the author to prepare a simple, brief and comprehensive

statement of this Science, with plentiful quotations from the Bible in support of its

leading doctrines, being designed especially to hand to that numerous class of people

who are now just at the point of inquiring what Christian Science is, and what it teaches.

Those who have been for some time students of Science will find in the pamphlet much

that will be useful and stimulating.

REVELATION INTERPRETED

The time has come concerning which St. John himself prophesied, in regard to

the Book of Revelation, that this "mystery of God should be finished [revealed] , as He

hath declared to His servants the prophets" (Rev. 10:7). Mr. Kratzer has made a very

thorough study of this book in the light of Christian Science, and in the light of what

can be learned from a careful examination of the Greek text. He considers that, when

rightly understood, it contains more teaching of first rate importance than any other

human document of equal length.

"THE NEW AGE"

Several predictions made in this timely book, published in 1917, have been

fulfilled, or are in process of fulfillment, warranting the inference that the remainder of

them will come to pass as predicted. This work contains a large amount of interesting

and stimulating material.

"THE UNIVERSAL GOSPEL"

This booklet is put forth to call attention to the widespread discovery and

statement of fundamental truth, in order that the people of all nations may be drawn into

a closer sense of brotherhood, to the end that wars may cease, and in order that world-

wide attention may be brought to the blessings to mankind which are to be derived from

that practical application of universal truth, for the overcoming of sin, disease, accident

and poverty, in which Christian Science, as set forth to the modern world by Mary

Baker Eddy, has proven itself so remarkably successful. This Science is shown to be a

freshly inspired statement of what lies at the root of most of the world's great religions,

86

with a method of practice more generally and definitely usable than any that have

previously been given to mankind.

Written by ELIZABETH GARY KRATZER

COMPLETE IN HIM

This work is in story form and deals especially with the application of Christian

Science to the solution of the sex problem. Also, a reader will get from perusing the

book an excellent idea of the method of applying Christian Science to the healing of sin

and disease and is sure to gain much of inspiration and spiritual uplift. The book has

been widely circulated and highly commended by some of the best Science teachers and

workers in the world.

''INDIVIDUAL COMPLETENESS"

"The Male and Female of God's Creating"

A Syllabus and Compilation for Study and Reference: The central thought is

well indicated by the following passage from "Science and Health": "As mortals gain

more correct views of God and man, multitudinous objects of creation, which before

were invisible, will become visible. When we realize that Life is Spirit, never in nor of

matter, this understanding will expand into self completeness, finding all in God, good,

and needing no other consciousness."

PAMPHLETS BY REV. G. A. KRATZER

POINTS OF AGREEMENT BETWEEN NATURAL SCIENCE AND

CHRISTIAN SCIENCE "The Earth Helped the Woman" (Revelation 12:16)

A twelve page pamphlet filled with numerous quotations from modern scientific

and philosophical writers, showing how the human learning ("the earth") of the present

day is clearing away the obstacles presented by materialism, which have tended to

prevent the acceptance of the spiritual idea ("the woman") as presented to the modern

world through the writings of Mary Baker Eddy. Thus human learning is now co-

operating with the spiritual evangel; and the universal acceptance of this spiritual idea,

“man in God's likeness," ''the male and female of His creating," will ultimate in the

salvation of the world.

HOW TO STUDY THE BIBLE & SCIENCE AND HEALTH

ADVANTAGEOUSLY

This pamphlet will prove of great assistance to all except advanced students of

the Bible and the Christian Science text- book. It will be of especial service to

practitioners to place in the hands of their patients; for it is sure to induce a more

systematic, interested and intelligent study of Christian Science from those books in

which is found the fundamental literary expression of this Science, thus inducing more

certain and rapid healing. The pamphlet explains the superiority of the topical method of

study and the reasons for it, and gives some definite suggestions as to how to go about

it. The pamphlet also shows the student how, in reading the Bible and "Science and

87

Health" or other religious books, to recognize the difference between statements made

from the absolute point of view and those made from the relative point of view. This

saves the reader much confusion, by obviating the sense which he is likely to have, that

there are inconsistencies and contradictions in the teachings of the books which he is

studying.

TEACHING AND ADDRESSES By — Edward A. Kimball C.S.D

EDITED AND TOPICALLY INDEXED BY REV. G. A. KRATZER, B. A.

In some of the classes of Mr. Edward A. Kimball C.S.D., notes, shorthand or

otherwise, were taken by various students, and considerable material was given by

dictation. The present volume contains a set of such notes taken in his last class by one

of his most capable students, a full report of the Association Address following, also

notes by students of other classes. Mr. Kimball, at various times, spoke before

practitioners and other prominent workers, and gave them special instruction on the

needs of the cause and on methods of working in healing the sick. This book contains

shorthand reports of some of the addresses so given, and of several other addresses

delivered at various times, which have never appeared in print, and reports of some

public lectures printed in local newspapers, but never published in form for

preservation.